A woman's wanderings in the western world ; a series of letters addressed to Sir Fitzroy Kelly, M.P

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A WOMAN'S WANDEEINGS

IN THE

WESTEEN WORLD

%, j>nlK nf I rite aitesti tn
SIR EITZROY KELLY, M.P.

BY HIS DAUGHTER

MES. BEOMLEY

A V

LONDON
SAUNDEKS, OTLEY, AND CO.

66 BROOK STREET, HANOVER SQUARE
1861

The right of Translation y's rertrrctf.

JX)NDON

FEINTED BY SPOTTIS WOOD E AND CO.
NEW-STREET SQUARE

THE following pages contain a short narrative of
travel in North and South America, Mexico, and the
West Indies, undertaken by the Author for the
renovation of health and spirits, severely shaken by
domestic losses during the preceding year. The
author gladly takes this occasion of expressing her
grateful sense of the kindness, courtesy, and hospi-
tality she met with from all whom she came across
\->. during her tour. It is no small tribute of praise in

honour of the Spanish, American, and Spanish-
.

American people, to state the fact, that during a

period of ten months' travel in their domains, and
over a space of upwards of 20,000 miles, a woman
and a stranger, accompanied only by a young friend
(a girl), met with no word or act of annoyance from
first to last.

WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD,

CHAPTER I.

ST. THOMAS, July \*ih, 1853. — We arrived here,
my dear Father, this morning, after a prosperous and
pleasant voyage of fifteen days. I can scarcely per-
suade myself yet that the past fortnight is not a
dream ; that I really am in another hemisphere, and
another clime ; that the view I am now contemplating
of this beautiful island, its deep blue sky and tropical
vegetation, will not dissolve itself into the Apsley
gardens and the statue of Achilles, or some equally
familiar home scene. However, assuming that I am
awake, I will, according to promise, note down for
your amusement (I hope) during your few hours of
leisure, all my doings and adventures in their due
course. The first few days after leaving South-

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2 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ampton were chiefly occupied in " fixing " ourselves,
and making acquaintance one with another, neither
of which was attended with much difficulty, as fortu-
nately neither Eleanor nor I have suffered at all from
sea-sickness. On the seventh day we sighted the
Azores, especially the island of St. Michael, and were
able just faintly to discern the Peak of Pico. I was
sorry not to be allowed to land ; but the rules of the
packet service forbid touching anywhere on the way,
except in a case of necessity. We have had the
advantage of two captains during the voyage, as,
besides Captain Woolley, who commands our beauti-
ful Parana, we are accompanied by Captain Abbott,
who joins his own ship, which has been out here
under repair. Our fellow-passengers have been
mostly agreeable and kindly-disposed people, gathered
indeed from many different nations. We formed a
miniature Babel between us in point of tongues ; but
luckily there was neither quarrel nor disagreement,
and I believe we shall all part and go on our respec-
tive ways now with mutual regret. I must not for-
get to tell you that I have been persuaded by two or
three experienced travellers in these countries, to
change the route I had originally intended to take,
and instead of paying my visit at Barbados now, and
proceeding to America later in the season, I propose
going at once to Havana, thence make a short tour in
the United States, and return south to Barbados in

ST. THOMAS — TROPICAL VEGETATION. 3

October or November. There is some risk, I am
told, of being snowed up and detained for months in
America when travelling so late in the year. . . .
Finding that the Clyde (the steamer bound for
Havana) does not sail till to-morrow at mid-day, we
went on shore this morning, and took a drive about
the town and environs, a friend of Captain Abbott's
having good-naturedly organised a carriage and pair
of horses to be in readiness for us. The yellow fever
is still raging in St. Thomas, I am sorry to hear,
though its violence has much abated' during the last
few weeks. It is now chiefly confined to the ships in
the harbour, especially that part where the coaling
takes place ; but both town and land are now com-
paratively free from the scourge. It is singular,
however, that no one speaks of it as a thing they
feared in the least degree. A row of about ten
minutes brought us to the shore, and for the first time
I trod not on European ground. St. Thomas is not
generally named ad a favourable specimen of a tropical
climate ; but it is so new to me, and the change is in
every respect so complete from all we left on the
other side of the Atlantic, as to be sufficient to please
by its novelty alone. What richness of colour per-
vades everything, — land, sea and sky seem to vie with
each other in depth and gorgeousness of hue. At the
risk of horrifying and displeasing my compatriots, for
good and all, I must aver that I never knew before

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4 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

what real green trees and green grass were. One pe-
culiarity of the vegetation here I cannot understand,
namely, that with a tropical sun absolutely blazing
all day, and with pretty nearly equal violence through-
out the year, yet nothing seems burnt ; leaves, trees,
and plants look as fresh as spring. Now in England
or France, or any temperate climate, a fortnight
uninterrupted summer sunshine is enough to burn,
dry up, and change the colour of everything; in
short, the glory of the summer would have departed.
I suppose there must be some way of accounting for
this singularity, but for my part, I must apply to
some wiser head than my own to elucidate it. There
are palm trees in abundance here, the principal fea-
tures in all my beau-ideal landscapes. I observed
in the course of our drive, the banyan, tamarind,
and mango, hitherto only known at home in our hot-
houses. I admire the tamarind leaf exceedingly ; it
is so graceful. Also I must not omit mentioning my
introduction to a sugar plantation, which, however,
did not make so pleasing an impression as other new
arborical acquaintances. They (the sugar canes)
look like a forest of rushes ; but the people here tell
me I should wait to see them in flower before pro-
nouncing the fiat of " ugly " upon them. En revanche
I may be permitted irrevocably so to designate the
inhabitants, i. e. the black people. I could scarcely
have imagined anything so hideous as a black baby,

NEQRO FINERY — GREAT COTTON TREE. 5

and I don't know which was worst, one I saw about
six months old, in white swaddling clothes, or another
just able to toddle alone, and who, instead of being
a rosy, dimpled little cherub, as might be expected,
was as black as ink, and, moreover, stark naked.
With the grown-up female population, however, de-
ficiency of dress cannot be complained of; every
colour in the rainbow is pressed into the service,
and generally at the same time — the more the better
they seem to think ; yellow, sky-blue and pink seem
the fashionable tints, and dresses are generally worn
flounced up to the waist. Neither shoes nor stock-
ings are usually worn, except on Sundays to go to
church, and then the former are of white satin ! I
was nearly forgetting to chronicle almost the only re-
markable curiosity belonging to this island, namely,
a gigantic cotton tree. I am afraid to trust my
memory as to its age or size, though both were told
me, but its proportions are most colossal, and the
shapes assumed by its gnarled and twisted branches
are most extraordinary. The tree, altogether, would
form, in the outline, a very good representation of
the Laocoon magnified a hundred times. . . .
The time had now come to bid farewell to the Parana
and our ocean friends, which we did with real regret.
A long voyage makes one become quite attached
even to inanimate things : I was really grieved to
quit my little cabin. There are only four of our old

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6 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

companions going on with us to Havana, the rest are
to scatter themselves far and wide in every direction.
St. Thomas is the central spot whence radiate all
routes to other parts of the western hemisphere.
The Clyde seems quite a nutshell after the Parana.
She is commanded by Captain Wilson, a son of the
Bishop of Calcutta. I shall close my letter now, as
the mail starts for England very early to-morrow
morning. — Ever your affectionate,

C.

HAVANA — HAKBOUR,

CHAPTEE II.

Fonda de los Americanos, Havana. — My dear
Father, — We landed here yesterday, and I resume the
narrative of my progress, although this sea travelling
is such an easy nonchalant sort of life, it makes one
quite idle, but as the weather is somewhat hot I shall
be sorry to leave the sea for the land journey. On
the 19th and 20th we coasted along San Domingo
and Porto Kico, but did not touch at either. Early
in the morning of the 22nd the lighthouse of Havana
was in sight, and at 4 o'clock P.M. we entered the
harbour. I had heard in England that the entrance
to Havana was a scene of all but matchless beauty ;
this, however, I think is exaggerated ; very beautiful
it truly is, and the immense palm trees fringing its
shore, give it a character peculiarly its own : still I
think the ports of Naples, Genoa, and above all,
Corfu, may successfully vie with it in magnificence of
scenery. We were very nearly being obliged to
limit our acquaintance with Havana to its harbour,
and having to go on, in spite of ourselves, to Vera

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8 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Cruz, in consequence of our passport not having
been vise by the Spanish consul at St. Thomas.
The police were inexorable. " We must go on," at
least we must not stay. It was in vain we assured
them we were not conspirators, or worse still, Ameri-
cans. We were not en regie, that was certain, so we
must not remain. As things began now to look serious,
I thought it better to try what Senor Isturiz's letters
would do ; so I sent the one to the Captain-general,
writing a note to him myself, at the same time stating
the circumstances and our dilemma. In the mean
time, awaiting his reply, we went on shore, as that is
allowed for transitory passengers. Not a little to
my relief, and I must confess to my astonishment,
the Spanish ambassador's letter had a most magical
effect. To begin with : the Captain-general sent the
royal boat to bring us on shore, and finding we had
already gone, they took our luggage, consequently
there was no custom-house searching, as on ne touche
pas a la Reine or her conveyances. The next sur-
prise that awaited me was in the shape of an aide-de-
camp, dressed in full scarlet and gold (the Spanish
uniform is almost the same as our Guards), who came
charged with a message to the effect that the Captain-
general himself, and all that he had, was at my dis-
position. This sounds somewhat wonderful to a
stranger, but it is nevertheless the general mode of
expression used by the Spanish people of all classes.

SPANISH COURTESY — PLAZA D'ARMAS — MOONLIGHT. 9

If you remark on anything belonging to them in
terms of praise, they say immediately, " It is yours,"
or a su disposition de usted : at your disposal. Of
course this is not intended to be taken literally, still
it is a courteous and kindly phrase. Having replied
to the aide-de-camp in as civil English as I could
muster, we proceeded, it being now about eight
o'clock, to the Plaza d' Armas, a large square, or
rather garden, in front of the palace, where we are
told a military band plays every night. But we were
little prepared for the scene that awaited us. I can
liken it to nothing but the last scene of some fairy
piece at a play : groups of glorious palm trees stand-
ing in bold relief against the glittering starry sky,
the moon shedding floods of light on the spray of a
fountain playing in the centre of the Plaza ; the
flowers, the music, and then the women ! As if still
further to heighten the resemblance to a play, or I
should now rather say, to a ballet, the senoras and
seiioritas were all in full evening costume ; wreaths
of flowers or jewels worn by all. They sauntered
about with the graceful and indolent walk peculiar
to the Spanish, and flirting both with their eyes and
their fans, in a manner which, had I been a man,
must have been highly detrimental to my head or
heart, or both. Still I do wish I were either a painter
or a poet, that I might at least describe my impression
in something better than this.

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10 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

23rd — Took a drive this morning in a volante, a
species of carriage peculiar to Havana, a most curious
affair, and difficult to describe. — A cabriolet body,
placed rather low and forward ; two gigantic wheels
almost at the back ; traces of excessive length termi-
nating with a horse, mounted by a diminutive black
postillion, who is generally equipped either in green
or crimson velvet and large top-boots. These vo-
lantes hold two persons, and sometimes three ; they
are very comfortable and easy, the seat being so well
poised, and the springs quite elastic. We wandered
about the town looking at the outside of the various
buildings. The Moro, or lighthouse, placed on a steep
rock at the entrance to the harbour, nearly grown
over with the bright flowers and leaves of the cactus,
gives great beauty to the general coup $ceil of the
landscape. The palace, the prison, the new opera-
house, called the Tacon, from Greneral Tacon, who
built it during his vice-royalty here ; the fort of
Santa Clara, the Paseo or public promenade, and the
cathedral (the burial-place of Christopher Columbus),
were principal points of interest in our drive to-day.
Bu£ as at present we are here only en passant and
mean to make a longer stay on our return, I shall
reserve till then any more detailed account. On
coming in to dinner I found a note from the Captain-
general, hoping we would do him the honour of
attending the opera at night, and that he would send

TACON OPERA HOUSE — THE CAPTAIN-GENERAL. 11

his carriage to convey us there at the proper time.
Accordingly, at eight o'clock, a very pretty barouche
drove up, and this time two aides-de-camp came to
escort us, and in about ten minutes we arrived at the
Tacon theatre, and were ushered into the royal box.
There were two magnificent chairs, or rather thrones,
with the crown and arms of Spain carved above each.
We were about to seat ourselves in some more hum-
ble places, but were told the Captain-general had
desired we should fill the seats of honour ; so recol-
lecting Louis XIV.'s lessons on good breeding, on a
somewhat similar occasion, I thought it better to do
as I was told without further demur, though for a
few moments I could not help feeling nervous, as
every pair of eyes in the house were turned upon me.
Soon, however, I forgot all about myself in wonder
and in admiration of this singularly beautiful theatre.
All the boxes are open, that is to say, the occupants
are seen from head to foot, which, it need not be
said, adds much to the fine effect of the whole, the
sides and fronts of the boxes being delicately carved
in open gold trellis-work. The ceiling alone is
painted, and that very beautifully, and the backs of
the boxes are covered with fluted silk and lace dra-
peries. Wrapped in contemplation of this brilliant
scene, I had not heard the door open, and was con-
siderably startled by a voice at my ear announcing
the speaker " was at my feet." I speedily got upon

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12 WANDEEINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

mine, and made my first reverence to the Captain-
general, and was about taut bien que mal to make a
Spanish speech to him, when, to my great relief, he
addressed me in French ; so all was plain sailing then.
Greneral Canedo is a fine soldierly-looking man,
about fifty years of age, not handsome in face (with
the exception of the eyes), but with a kind, benevo-
lent expression, a good voice, and a thorough gentle-
man, as may be seen at a glance. The opera was
changed after all for a comedy, in consequence of the
illness of one of the singers.

During the week we have passed here whilst wait-
ing the sailing of the steamer, we have gone about
Havana and its environs. The Paseo or Alameda,
the place where the Havanese betake themselves
every evening for riding and driving, reminds me
rather of the Champs Elysees, only here the avenues
and plantations are all of palm trees. About a mile
and a half from the town is a suburb called the
" Cerro," where most of the aristocracy and some of
the merchants have country-houses, or " Quintas," as
they are called. The gardens attached to these
Quintas are delightful — a wilderness of trees, flowers,
and fruit. We passed two or three evenings with the
Captain-general at his Quinta, played billiards, ate
pine apples, and sauntered about the gardens. He
was always good-natured enough to load us with
flowers when we returned, and such beautiful ones.

HAVANA — TOMB OF COLUMBUS. 13

I, especially, always managed to get a beautiful bunch
of stephanotis.

Yesterday morning went to the cathedral to visit the
tomb of Christopher Columbus ; a plain marble slab,
with a short inscription, is all there is to tell of him.
I cannot understand how a generous and noble-
natured people like the Spanish should have allowed
the remains of one to whom they owe so much to lie
neglected and almost forgotten. That he should be
buried here, in the land he found and won, is right
and just, as well as in accordance with his own d}dng
wishes ; but where is the sculptured monument ?
Where the glowing epitaph which should be seen
above the grave of Columbus ?

14 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE III.

August 4:th. — We have now been waiting here
twelve days for the Isabel Segunda steamer. She
arrived at length, and we came on board last night to
sleep, as daybreak was the time fixed for sailing this
morning. We have a wonderful collection of people,
some of them not of the choicest description, and who
look very much out of place in the beautiful crimson
and gold-decorated saloon, from a corner of which I
am writing to you. The heat is something indescrib-
able, notwithstanding the sea-breeze ; and, as you may
imagine, there being a bright moonlight, we were glad
to remain on deck the greater part of the night, in-
stead of going to the hot, close, little cabin assigned
to us for sleeping quarters.

Friday, 5th. — We touched this morning at a place
called Key West, for the purpose of taking on board
a lot of turtles. Poor things ! it is melancholy to see
them flapping and floundering about the deck, await-
ing their fate and their turn to be converted into
soup ! Two of our Cuban friends, who are proceeding

CHARLESTON — HARBOUR. 1 5

to New York direct in the Isabel, wish to persuade
us to do likewise ; but this stifling heat is unbearable ;
so we shall adhere to our original plan of travelling
there by land from Charleston, of which place we
are just now in sight, so I must go on deck to take
my first look at the continent of America.
The entrance to the harbour is remarkably wide,
about two miles across. It is formed by the junction
of two rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper, the former
of which is considerably upwards of 6000 feet in
width, and the latter 4000 feet. The approach and
the crossing of the bar are difficult, and in stormy
weather must be dangerous enough ; shoals and
quicksands abound. To-day, though perfectly calm
and fine, our boat pitched, and rolled, and whirled
about in the most distracted manner before succeed-
ing in making good her entrance into the port.
Charleston is at present in a very flourishing con-
dition, being the richest as well as the most populous
town, or rather city, I believe it is more correctly
termed, of South Carolina. Cotton, rice, and tobacco
are the principal products of the state ; but of these
the two first form much the larger portion of the
trade carried on. After taking some dinner at the
hotel, we procured a vehicle (I have yet to learn
what they are termed here, — whether cabs, flies,
coaches, or carriages, but they are not volantes
at all events), in which we proceeded to find out

16 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

what we could of the celebrities of the place. The
streets are wide, clean, and airy; the houses not
altogether ugly, in spite of their being made of
red brick. Some handsome public buildings, in-
cluding the Exchange, City Hall, and Citadel, but
we were most pleased with the public promenade,
which extends for a considerable distance by the
water side, and is thickly planted with trees. From
this spot a very fine view is obtained of the harbour
and forts, and the ocean beyond. Charleston seems
most unusually protected by strong places. If I
remember rightly, we counted four forts indepen-
dently of the citadel. Of these the most famous
and interesting, to us at least, is Fort Moultrie on
Sullivan's Island, very near to the harbour, where
the English under Sir Peter Parker were repulsed
in the War of Independence in 1776. As you may
suppose, we being Englishwomen, were very es-
pecially informed of our national defeat. Having
enjoyed our drive very much, we finished off with
going to witness the departure of the Isabel with our

two friends the D 's on board, continuing their

route to New York. And now, for the first time
since parting from you at Southampton, we are
alone, that is to say, we shall set out on our travels
to-morrow unaccompanied by any one we know or
have ever seen before. I must make this letter
shorter than usual, being a good deal tired by the

CHARLESTON — DEPARTURE. 1 7

heat and crowd on our voyage from Havana, and
our departure to-morrow being very matinal. More-
over, the first portion of our journey is to be again
aquatic, in accordance with the suggestion and advice
of the people here, and we take the steamer to a
place called Wilmington. — Yours ever,

C.

18 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE IV.

AFTER a long and not over pleasant sea and land
'journey from Charleston, we are now, my dear
father, comfortably " located " for the day here,
namely, at Kichmond, in a large, cheerful, and, as
we saw it last night on our arrival, brilliantly
lighted hotel. But before saying anything of this
place, I must begin at the beginning, and chronicle
our movements since I last wrote. Our departure
from Charleston did not, for some reason best
known to the powers on board the steamer, take
place till the afternoon, instead of the morning;
the sky was lowering, atmosphere oppressive, and
boat crowded ; and to make matters better, when we
had been about four hours at sea, we met with a
Job's comforter, in the shape of the chief engineer
of the vessel, who informed us that the particular
point we were then turning, and which bore the
ominous name of Cape Fear, was the most dangerous
spot on all the southern coast ; that the heavy cloud
we saw " looming in the distance," was the probable

WILMINGTON — RAILWAY CARS. 19

forerunner of a squall ; also, that a vessel, for which
the one we were on board was a substitute, had been
lost on just such a night as this, on her return
voyage, having previously, however, landed Jenny
Lind in safety on the outward bound trip. Here
was a pretty catalogue of disasters ! Decidedly our
friend must have had the mischievous design of
upsetting our nerves : notwithstanding all these black
prognostications, the night passed without any mis-
adventure, and we reached Wilmington yesterday
morning in safety ; a busy-looking, commercial town,
but containing nothing worthy of note in other
respects. It owes its rise, if not its existence, to
being the terminus of the immense line of railroad
from north to south of the United States. To make
up for the absence of the threatened gale of wind
at night, the rain poured down with such extreme
violence, that in walking over the short space of
about twenty yards from the landing to the railway
train, where the " cars " were in waiting, we got
completely wet through. The carriages, or cars as
they are called here, differ considerably in their
construction from those on the European railroads.
Each car is of exceeding length, and instead of being
in compartments with doors at the sides, you enter
at the back, and find a lane, on the principle of the
aisle of a church, straight through the centre of the
car, with rows of benches on either side for the

20 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

accommodation of the passengers. These benches have
reversible backs; so that you may sit fronting the
engine or not as you prefer. I am not sure on the
whole that I like these American cars ; it seems to
me that you are not sufficiently protected against
the weather ; there are no means of ventilation,
except by keeping the windows open ; and this ne-
cessarily, of course, let in a quantity of wet in the
beginning of the journey. By and by as we pro-
ceeded the rain ceased, and the sun began absolutely
to blaze, — shine is too mild an expression. The heat
and dust then became insufferable ; added to which,
the ashes and cinders from the engine blew in upon
us in showers, penetrating every nook and corner,
and certainly neither contributing to our' comfort
nor cleanliness. We looked like a set of sweeps
before reaching our journey's end. In other respects
the regulations are good enough. The travelling is
fast, very cheap, and lastly, all the people, employes,
and others are kindly and civilly disposed towards
women. The general aspect of the country we have
traversed is strange and wild. We have passed over
upwards of 300 miles of one nearly unvaried scene,
trees and water, water and trees. Every now and
then a small clearance had been made, the stumps
being left, showing where the trees had been ; and
two or three houses were built, rarely more ; but a
very few years, they tell me, will suffice to convert

AMERICAN RAILWAY TRAVELLING. 21

these small beginnings into considerable towns. The
grand old names belonging to some of these embryo
" cities " are at times ludicrous. Warsaw, for in-
stance, consists of exactly four houses. I should not
omit to mention that the line of railroad I have just
been describing is laid along the outskirts or margin
of the great morass immortalised by Moore's poetry,
called "The Lake of the Dismal Swamp," which
will account for the aquatic character of the greater
portion of the route. Dismal enough it looked
certainly, especially as night drew on. The last
cheerful-looking place we saw was called Petersburg,
where we stopped for refreshment, a pretty, green-
looking spot, and apparently in a thriving condition.
About two hours before arriving at Richmond, it
being then quite dark, we had to cross, by means
of a very long bridge, a dreary marsh or fen water
surrounding us on every side, and the extreme dis-
tance only bounded by the dark outline of a sombre
forest ; our train looking like a thread on the waste
of waters: the scene was altogether appalling, and
greatly relieved I felt when we had safely crossed it.
By day, no doubt, it would look less terrible, but the
effect at night is by no means pleasant. I had
nearly forgotten to tell you of a curious notice I saw
posted up at the railway station at Wilmington. It
purported to state the fares on some short line, I
cannot tell what, between Wilmington and whatever

22 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

the place may have been. It ran thus : " (rents and
ladies 75 cents, children and slaves 35 cents ! " As
you are aware, there is no first or second class in
American travelling. Persons, therefore, are charged
all equally, but children and slaves it should appear
do not count. Eichmond, where we arrived at length
last night, is the capital town of Virginia, and is
remarkably picturesque in its general character.
The private houses, as well as many of the public
buildings, are mostly enclosed in ornamental grounds,
planted with shrubs and trees. These, together with
there being a waterfall in the immediate vicinity,
the falls of the James Biver, on which the town is
built, combine to render Eichmond somewhat more
of a show place than might be expected of a manu-
facturing town. We paid a short visit to the capitol,
which stands in the midst of a very tastefully-planted
square or park, serving as a pleasure-ground and
promenade for the public. Clumps and avenues
of fine trees, with a quantity of grass-plots inter-
sected with paths and gravel-walks. Inside the
building there stands facing you as you enter the
hall, a well-executed statue of Washington in white
marble. I do not know the sculptor's name, — indeed,
to tell the truth, I forgot to ask. There are several
cotton factories here, but the principal source of
industry is tobacco. About fifty manufactories are
in action at the present moment, each employing

VIRGINIA RICHMOND. 23

an average of 150 to 200 hands, black hands, of
course ; and I am told that both the population and
commercial prosperity of Richmond are steadily
increasing every year. To-morrow we proceed north-
wards, and expect to reach Washington, so I will
write no more to you now, but take up my narrative
again when our journey thither is accomplished.

24 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER V.

August 9th. — Left Richmond at 7 A. M., and after
about five hours in the train, reached a place they
call Aquia Creek, where we embarked on a steamer,
the Baltimore, which conveyed us up the river
Potomac to Washington, a pleasant little voyage ;
the banks of the river green and pretty, though
tame. In this part of the United States there is
much resemblance to our counties of Kent and
Surrey. Green fields, orchards, and a kitchen-
gardeny look about the country, added to red brick
houses in the towns, still further increases the like-
ness. The people, however, are different in almost
every respect. Nothing strikes me more, as an
Englishwoman, than the interest, or as some call
it, the curiosity, displayed by the people here about
the affairs of strangers. They guess, reckon, or
calculate upon all your actions, and even your
motives. Nevertheless, I am never inclined either
to think or treat this inquisitiveness as an imper-
tinence, and, moreover, I do not think they mean

AMERICAN CURIOSITY. 25

it themselves as such ; I believe it arises from their
desire to compare themselves, their sayings and
doings, with every stranger they come across, and
in their anxiety to do this, they occasionally lose
sight of the bounds of good breeding. On the
other hand we English go into an opposite extreme.
The indifference with which we view everybody we
do not know, the fright we are in lest we should
know some one who is not as high up as ourselves
in the social scale. And as to asking questions!
I suspect if we could, Asmodeus-like, look into
the minds of nineteen out of twenty travellers who
meet each other at home, their reflexions would
run somewhat as follows : " I don't care where you
live or what you are, where you come from or
where you are going to, and I only hope you are
not going to speak to me." But though, as I have
said, I do not think the Americans mean rudeness
by their curiosity, they are quite the most conceited
people possible; their comparisons, which I have
before mentioned, are never by any chance turned
to their own disadvantage. Whatever the subject,
trivial or important, theirs is the victory, "they
beat all creation." And yet, until the Americans
cure themselves of some of their personal habits,
to which it would be disagreeable more particularly
to allude, I think they can scarcely be suffered
to class themselves among civilised nations, and
' c

26 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

certainly not among civilised society. I have rarely
seen, on our side of the Atlantic, peasants or artisans
so offensive in their personal actions as I regret to
say those who call themselves American gentlemen.
Apropos of peculiarities and habits, I am rather
amused at the announcements printed and hung
up behind all the room doors in the hotels on the
subject of stealing. We must at least give them
credit for the candour with which they acknowledge
their propensities towards thieving or annexing, as
I suppose they would call it themselves. You are
solemnly warned by these notices always to lock
your door and remove your key when you leave
the room, "if you wish to avoid being robbed,"
and to bolt your door inside at night "for fear
of night visitors." — To return to our voyage after
this long digression. About fifteen miles below
Washington, we passed Mount Vernon, the resi-
dence and burial-place of the patriot. We could
barely distinguish the monument; but the place
seemed very still and well formed for a refuge from
the turmoil of public life.

August 10th. — I forget what author remarks on
Washington, that "it is a city of magnificent in-
tentions." The expression is very well chosen. It
might be, and should the day ever dawn on its
entire completion, it will be most splendid. Seen
from a little distance few towns in the world could

WASHINGTON — THE CAPITAL. 27

compare with it, but on a near view the charm dis-
solves. Everything is being built, nothing finished ;
and even those buildings which to all appearance
are complete and unexceptionable, do not satisfy
the prevailing mania. They will not let well alone,
but must be ever altering, enlarging, improving,
and what not, until the whole place resembles a
stone-mason's yard, instead of the metropolis of a
state, and the seat of its government. The capitol
is a most magnificent structure, and might very
well vie with the architectural chefs-d'oeuvre of
Rome or Athens, were it only left in peace. But
they must " go ahead," and accordingly have begun
to build two wings, which will not, I think, improve
the original design ; and, en attendant) obliges one
to wade through stones, dust, and marble on every
side. The interior of the capitol is very simple,
the only ornamental part being immediately under
the dome, which is used apparently as a sort of
lobby by the members of Congress between the
acts of their debates. This dome is hung round
with pictures, by American artists, of the principal
events in their country's history. They include
the baptism of Pocahontas, the discovery of America
by Christopher Columbus, and the landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers. The rest are devoted to the
various memorable episodes in the life of George
Washington. Of these the most remarkable and

c 2

28 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

the most frequently repeated on their canvass are
those occasions on which the enemy surrendered to
him. From the summit of the steps of the capitol,
and at the end of a long avenue of noble trees,
is seen the colossal statue of Washington, with the
following short but graceful inscription on the
pedestal : " Greorge Washington, the first in peace,
the first in war, and the first in the hearts of his
countrymen." Taken as a whole, the effect of
this is very fine, the charming scenery of the back-
ground, the windings of the Potomac, the fine
old trees which completely screen the city from
view, all unite to give the capitol an air of solitary
grandeur. The Post-office, the Treasury, the Pre-
sident's house, and the Patent-office are each and
all superb buildings, seen from a little distance,
as we did in taking a carriage drive round the
environs. The impression given by this distant
view is that Washington is one of the most splendid
towns in the world ; but alas ! the illusion is soon
dispelled. The buildings are there, certainly, but
not one of them is finished ; the streets are laid
out and named with the most ludicrous regularity,
but for the most part are guiltless of houses. Brick-
dust, stone-dust, and marble-dust nearly suffocate
you at every step, besides being lamed in stumbling
over stones and splinters of every description in your
path. A memorial has been begun to be erected

WASHINGTON HOTELS — GOOD AND CHEAP. 29

to Washington, and all the states of the Union
contribute something to it in the shape of a piece
of sculptured marble. Each piece is to be employed
and placed somewhere when the whole is completed ;
but when will that be, I wonder ? The people them-
selves give half a century before they expect its
completion. The worst of it is, judging from the
model, I think it will be but an ugly affair after
all. The drawing resembles a large manufacturing
chimney. We returned to our hotel (Brown's, Pen-
sylvania Avenue) tired and almost bewildered with
our wanderings about. How wonderfully cheap,
and generally speaking, how very good the American
hotels are ! This* one we are at, for instance, we
have two very nice rooms, drawing-room and bed-
room; the meals are breakfast, dinner, tea, and
supper, all of which are plentifully supplied with
the best food and a great variety, and for which
everything, light and all included, the charge is
a dollar and a half each per diem. They give you
a menu when you come down to breakfast of
the morning's provision, — eggs, omelettes, kidneys,
" chicken-fixings," cutlets, mushrooms, are the usual
items from which you select what you like. Then
there is an endless variety of bread made of Indian
corn, hominy, and other sorts of grain, but I cannot,
at least yet, like any of these, they are so very heavy,
so I generally adhere to buttered toast, which they

c 3

30 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

do to perfection. As I am about to proceed to
supper, the long drive having made me remarkably
hungry, I shall resume my letter to-morrow, after
having visited some more of the Washington objects
of interest.

This morning was occupied in the inspection of
several of the public buildings of which we had
only seen the exterior yesterday. These were the
Patent-office, the Post-office, the Smithsonian In-
stitute, and the President's house. The Patent-
office is really a noble building, and fortunately it
is not only finished, but speaking comparatively,
it may almost be termed an ancient structure. It
was one of the very few, indeed I believe it was
the only one, of the great institutions which escaped
destruction in 1814, when our English general Eoss,
by his famous coup-de-main, marched upon Wash-
ington, and before the surprised enemy could offer
any effectual resistance, had set fire to the capitol,
including its library, the docks, the Treasury, the
President's abode, the war-office, a great bridge,
and two or three ships of war, — a pretty good day's
work ! But the Patent-office, as I have said, escaped
the general conflagration, owing, they say, to the
strong intercession of its then director. The build-
ing is of white marble, and in the Italian style of
architecture. One very beautiful room, which is
devoted to the reception of the various inventions

WASHINGTON PATENT-OFFICE — WHITE HOUSE. 31

for which patents have been obtained, is upwards
of 120 feet long, and is adorned with a double row
of marble columns, supporting an arched roof finely
sculptured with bas-reliefs. From this we went to
the Post-office, also a handsome marble structure,
and thence to the President's, called also the ' f white
house." The congress not being in session now, both
this and the capitol are deserted, so that one may
roam over them at pleasure. The white house is
singularly simple and unpretending in its interior
decoration, certainly it cannot fairly be termed a
palace, and it is scarcely equal to a tolerably well-
appointed private abode. Before leaving this part
of the city we visited the Congress library, which
we had not entered previously. It is in one wing
of the capitol, and contains 28,000 volumes. We
closed our peregrinations by the inspection of the
Smithsonian Institute, one of the many examples
of private benevolence and liberality abounding
throughout the States. It is a curious and pic-
turesque-looking building of a red granite and in
the old turretted style of architecture. It has ten
towers, one in the centre much higher than the
others. We were not, however, admitted beyond
the grounds, a lecture being in course of delivery.
As perhaps I shall have no other opportunity of
despatching a letter before arriving at New York,
I shall send this off to-night, for " I calculate " it

C 4

32 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

will just catch the English mail. It would amuse

you to hear how beautifully E imitates the

Yankee twang. I am not so clever at it by a long
way, but with her it sounds quite genume. Adios.
Ever your affectionate
C.

AMERICAN WATER-DRINKERS — BALTIMORE. 33

CHAPTEE VI.

Baltimore, August 16th. — My dear Father, — We
came here yesterday afternoon, in about an hour and
a half from Washington. The country through which
we passed was very beautiful, and I should have
admired it still more but that I thought once or
twice we were going to " eternal smash," as they say
here. We travelled much faster than I ever recollect
doing in England, and frequently far too rapidly to be
safe. The distance between Washington and Balti-
more is but forty miles, and an hour and a half for tra-
versing that space would have been moderate enough,
but a very considerable delay took place at a station
called Annapolis, and then I suppose to make up lee
way they found it necessary to go like " greased light-
ning ! " What immoderate water-drinkers the Ame-
ricans are ! There is water in the trains, water
in the boats, water in the railway-stations, water
in the drawing-rooms, and to make matters worse,
at dinner (I am speaking of the table d'hote dinners
on the road), instead of taking a little wine or beer,

c 5

34 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

like people in general, they drink oceans of milk
diluted with water. It is to me most unpleasant
to look at, especially when accompanying rich entrees
and sauces, not to speak of fat pork, which is also a
very favourite dish, but does not in my opinion
look at all agreeable in juxtaposition with a great
tumbler of milk. As we hear that Baltimore does
not offer many attractions to a casual visitor, we
are enjoying a quiet morning. I can quite appre-
ciate the feeling of some traveller I have read
of, who on arriving I forget where, thanked heaven
there was nothing to be seen. In a hurried journey
one gets sadly tired of lionising. Besides I cannot
but feel the almost impossibility of giving any original
remarks, or of telling you or any one else anything
which you have not repeatedly heard before, though
may be in varied forms, about the United States.
I take it there is no other country in the world
that has been so often, so thoroughly, and so well
delineated as this, not even Italy.

Since writing the above we have been out, and
I am sorry to say there is more to see than I an-
ticipated. Joking apart, however, there are some
memorials of the past peculiarly interesting to English
people. The town itself is pretty nearly what I
expected, busy and commercial; red-brick houses,
and no end of factories and smoke. But besides
all this there are some famous monuments. I should

BALTIMORE ITS MONUMENTS. 35

mention perhaps that Baltimore is called, par excel-
lence, " the monumental city." First, and princi-
pally, there is a very fine one in honour of Washing-
ton, a Doric column, 160 feet high, surmounted by
his statue. It is a magnificent structure, and I think
far superior to that in the city of Washington.
Another, called Battle Monument, is erected to the
memory of the defenders of the city in that same
year, 1814, when the English, after the cruel havoc
they had made at Washington, essayed a like exploit
here, but were repulsed after bombarding the fort
(Henry) for twenty-four hours. The unfortunate
General Eoss, who commanded the English land
troops, was killed in the melee, and the fleet (consist-
ing of sixteen ships), under Admiral Cochrane, was
also compelled to retire. The third and last trophy
I need mention, is a monument in honour of Colonel
Armistead, the American Commander, and is in the
form of a pyramid made with cannon, and surmounted
with shot and shells. I forgot to tell you that we are
located at a hotel yclept " Barnums." I am quite
curious to know whether the proprietor is any relation
to the famous manager of that name. We purpose,
for a change, as the weather is so fine, leaving here
at seven this evening, taking a moonlight flitting.
The train ought to reach Philadelphia at midnight,
and as the moon is now about the full, and gloriously
bright, I think it will be a good opportunity of seeing

c 6

36 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

some American scenery under a fresh aspect. . . .
Nous void safely deposited in the very middle of the
Quaker city, at the Grirard House, a most magnificent
looking hotel at all events. The nocturnal journey
turned out well, and as I expected, the beautiful
moonlight gave a romantic tint to all it shone upon,
in spite of the prosy squeaking engine and the lum-
bering cars. The passage of the Eiver Schuylkill
(what a name !), a little before entering the town,
was an especially picturesque incident. Philadelphia
is generally called the " prettiest city in the States,"
on what grounds I cannot imagine, unless beauty is
supposed to consist in the most painfully straight
lines and acute angles. Judging from the aspect
of the town in this morning's perambulation, I
think it probable I should expire of ennui in a
week if forced to stay. I must endeavour to describe
its general appearance, however, in order that you
may form your own opinion, as may be, my artistic
dislike to extreme regularity renders me unduly pre-
judiced. So, first of all, there are two rivers : the
before-mentioned unpronounceable Schuylkill, and
the Delaware. Well, nature made them, so they are
not quite straight. The city is built between them,
and I cannot liken the long undeviating rows into
which the streets are sliced, to anything better than
the bars of a gridiron, so formal, so guiltless of a
curve. There are many jokes flying about at the ex-

PHILADELPHIA — FAIRMOUNT WATERWORKS. 37

pense of the prim and precise Philadelphians ; among
others it is said that owing to their excessive correct-
ness they object to resort to the usual and more sim-
ple formula of language generally employed, but that
if you ask your way of a passer-by, you will be di-
rected to take the third turning towards the east,
thence proceed due north, whence the place you seek
will be found to your south-west. Or perchance at
dinner you may be requested to hand the pickled
cucumbers that lie on the south-east of the stewed
ham; or the dish of Indian corn to the north-west of
the pumpkin pie !

There are several squares here which are pretty
enough, and like most of these enclosures in the
towns of the United States, tastefully laid out with
trees, shrubs and walks. Independence Square we
especially visited as being the spot on which the
American declaration of Independence was pro-
claimed. The room in the State Hquse hard by,
where the document was finally agreed upon and
signed on the memorable 4th of July, is still left as it
was in every respect, as a memento of the deed. On
leaving the State House we proceeded to the Fair-
mount waterworks, a pleasant drive of about three
miles from the town. The water (to the amount of
22,000,000 gallons) is kept in four reservoirs on the
top of a mount or mound of earth 1 00 feet high, to
which it is raised by mechanical power from the river

38 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

beneath. The reservoirs are surrounded and the
mount intersected with gravel walks and paths,
shaded by chesnut trees and evergreen shrubs, form-
ing a cool and agreeable promenade in summer
weather, and the eminence, though slight in itself, is
sufficient to afford a good and extensive view both of
town and country, all being so flat for many miles
round. The cost of these works came to 450,000
dollars, about 90,OOOL ; and I was told that upwards
of a hundred miles of iron piping is used in convey-
ing the water from the Fairmount to and through all
the various quarters of the city. The Grirard College,
to which our steps were now directed, is a large stone
building, on the model of the Parthenon at Athens,
but it is a poor imitation of the original in point of
architecture. The object of the institution is a most
praiseworthy one. A large sum of money — I believe
200,000 dollars— was left to the city of Philadelphia
by a Frenchman of the name of Grirard, for the pur-
pose of building a college for the education of orphan
boys. The pupils are received between the ages of
eight and eighteen. We were shown all over the
building, as well as the grounds and gardens, which
are extensive and handsome. The officials were par-
ticularly civil and good-natured in replying to all our
questions. The organisation of the establishment is
carried on in the most liberal and generous scale, and

PHILADELPHIA NOTIONS OF EQUALITY. 39

in the way of learning, the students are taught
everything they may wish to know.

There is much in the domestic manners and cus-
toms in this country to which I find it impossible to
reconcile myself. When will the people learn that
they may be free and independent yet at the same
time neither coarse nor vulgar ? An incident occurred
to-day at dinner, at which I cannot help laughing,
though I was excessively irritated. Among other sin-
gularities to which I cannot subscribe, is that of
rushing in at the sound of the dinner-bell, like so
many wild beasts going to feed ; and then when they
are there, the way they bolt everything, seize every-
thing, and heap everything eatable on their plates at
once, as if they feared their neighbours would annex
their share. I was walking at my usual pace along
the dinner room, about two minutes after the bell had
ceased ringing, and looking for my seat, when sud-
denly two hands (from behind) were placed on iny
shoulders, and the voice of a waiter, with the most
shocking twang, thus addressed me : — " Well, Miss,
I calculate if you want victuals you had better go
a-head!" Altogether, this hotel has by no means
tended to improve my impression of the inhabitants
of this, undeniably, " first-rate " country (to use their
own favourite expression). At night we had another
sample of their equality, and for the first time, I must

40 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

observe also, I found a want of the usual courtesy to
our sex, though to be sure the offender was only a
boy. On reaching our bed-room we found darkness
instead of the gas we expected, and we had omitted
to provide or indeed think of bringing a light
with us. We rang the bell and asked for a candle,
when our waiter, an urchin apparently not more
than thirteen or fourteen, after putting his arms a--
kimbo and spitting on the floor, told us he (t guessed
we might fetch one for ourselves, as we ought to have
brought one up with us."

We leave Philadelphia to-morrow ; and as I find my
letter has already expanded itself considerably, I will
defer to my next our journey to New York.

Always, &c.

C.

NEW YORK FIRST VIEW. 41

CHAPTEE VII.

New York, August 22nd. — My dear Father, — We
quitted Philadelphia early in the morning of the 20th,
that is, the day before yesterday, a short railway
journey of about sixty miles brought us to Amboy, not
a very interesting route ; the country flat and sandy.
The only object of note we passed was at Bordentown,
where the house and grounds formerly occupied by
Joseph Buonaparte were pointed out to us. Amboy
is situated at the extremity of a creek or arm of the
sea running inland. Here we left the cars and em-
barked in a steamer. It is pleasant to be able to
praise something ; so as to make up for all the
wrath and indignation poured forth in my last letter
to you about Philadelphia. I must frankly allow
that the first view of New York far surpasses in
splendour any town in the world I have yet seen,
and of those the number is not small. Everything
which constitutes either magnificence or beauty
seems united here. Sea and river, mountain and
garden, houses, ships, trees, all seem to vie with each

42 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

other in adding to the charm of this matchless scene,
coloured too as it was by the light of the setting sun.
I can scarcely imagine anything more beautiful than
the view which burst upon us as we gradually ap-
proached the entrance to the harbour. The channel
narrowing and disclosing Staten Island with its green
trees and bright-hued gardens on the one side, and
the fine suburb of New Jersey, apparently itself
a city of palaces on the other. It is said that the
united navies of the whole world would have room to
float in the New York waters. Whether this may be
an exaggeration or not I am not competent to decide ;
but the idea of great space and vastness must strike
the most casual observer. Judging from the impres-
sions of the first four-and-twenty hours, I am inclined
to give this the preference over any of the towns
I have yet visited in the States. It is bustling and
noisy to be sure ; still it is cheerful, and I should
think agreeable as a residence. The far-famed and
world-renowned " Broadway," the street par ex-
cellence of New York, I am almost afraid to mention.
It has been so written to death by travellers of every
kind, still it is unavoidable. " Broadway " is the
" Canebiere " * of New York. As far as I can see
at present, all the shops, or stores, as they call them,

* In allusion to La Canebiere, a famous street in Marseilles, con-
cerning which the Prove^al people are in the habit of observing,
" Que si Paris avait la Canebiere, ce serait un petit Marseille ! "

NEW YORK — BROADWAY. * 43

in the town, seem to be accumulated here ; as well
as the greater number of the hotels. These last-
mentioned establishments are almost the distinctive
feature of the place. Public or national buildings, so
to speak, exist in very small numbers ; but the hotels
are magnificent beyond all conception, — palaces
indeed they may be rather called, both in size and
redundancy of ornament. They are for the most part
built either of pure white marble or of a reddish-
brown granite, the latter in my opinion especially
beautiful. Attached to Broadway towards the higher
part of it are several very fine streets consisting
entirely of private houses. These streets are mostly
called " Avenues," and are numbered " 4th, 5th,"
&c. They are chiefly inhabited by the " upper ten
thousand." .... The place of our disem-
barcation on Saturday presents a curious example
of the different purposes to which things in this
world may be applied. The spot is named indif-
ferently, the Battery or the Castle Gardens, and one
of its uses is that of a general landing-place for
voyagers coming from or going to the south. Being
well laid out in shady walks, planted with trees
and shrubs, it forms a pleasant rendezvous where
you may meet your friends. Indeed, it is the only
thing of the kind in New York, bearing the remotest
resemblance to one of our parks. But besides all
this, there is something else, and at night the scene

44 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

changes — into what should you guess ? No less an
institution than the Italian Opera ! called, for the
nonce, the Castle Garden Theatre. The ancient
name of Castle G-arden was Castle Clinton, erected
as one of the defences of the harbour ; but as time
went on and new and more efficient fortifications
were built, this was turned to the pacific purpose
of a place of public amusement; and finally, as I
have said, it is now used as the Italian Opera House.
Not feeling by any means fatigued, we went there
on the evening of our arrival. The interior is quite
different from the general notion one entertains of
an Opera House. There are no boxes at all; the
world sits in what we should call the pit ; ladies wear
bonnets, and gentlemen what they please. Sontag*
is the prima donna at present, and took the part of
Kosina in the Barbiere ; but either she is not in
good voice, or else she is saving it. Knowing her
style so well as I do, I could see there was some-
thing not right. She gave the impression of a
person humming or trying over a song before pro-
ceeding to perform it properly ... I now re-
sume my letter after a relache of two or three days,
employed chiefly in reading your budget from
England. We have been to church, and also to a place
of musical entertainment called Christy's Minstrels ;

* Poor Sontag died, in Mexico, of cholera nine months afterwards.

CHRISTY'S MINSTRELS — HOBOKEN. 45

the former I should not mention, but that the
Divine Service took place at Trinity Church, the
principal and handsomest church, not only in New
York, but I believe I might add in the United States,
which are sadly deficient in church architecture.
There is nothing whatever in any of the American
churches, I have seen, either to please the eye or
ear. This Trinity is Orothic, spacious, and possesses
a very high steeple ; but I think that is all. Christy's
Minstrels are amusing enough. They are a set of
apparently black men, numbering from twelve to
fourteen persons, and who impersonate the " darkies; "
talk as they talk, sing as they sing, and play the
banjo, bones and other instruments. They perform
alternately solos, duets, trios and choruses. Some of
the airs are exceedingly melodious, and the words
adapted to them quite pathetic. Two especially I
noted are most touching called " Old Dog Tray," and
" My old Kentucky Home, (rood Night." We went this
afternoon to dine with Mr. K. the banker, to whom
I had a letter of introduction. His country resi-
dence is at Hoboken, a suburb of New York about
five miles off. The scenery on the way was beau-
tiful and moreover quite wild. It is difficult to
believe that so large a city is close at hand, one
might fancy oneself hundreds of miles afar in the
backwoods, so still and silent. We dined with Mrs.
K.'s family. They have a pretty house and grounds,

46 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

with a magnificent view from their garden, of New
York in the distance, and the Hudson flowing at
their feet. Mrs. K. and the daughters are hospit-
able, amiable people, with lovely faces like all Ame-
rican women.

N.B. — The driver missed his way in returning,
and we did not get back till late.

BANKS OF THE HUDSON — NIAGARA,

CHAPTER VIII.

August 25th. — Set out last evening by the light of
a bright moon, en route to Niagara. The railroad for
some distance was along the banks of the Hudson,
which are very beautiful by day and may be called
romantic by night. I intend, if all be well, to
return to New York by boat on the river, and thus
to see the beauties of the road by' land and water.
Reached Niagara early this morning and proceeded
immediately across the river to the Clifton House
on the Canadian side. The view of the falls being
better in every respect here than on the American
shore. I know it is the fashion with most people
to go almost out of their senses on the first view
of the Niagara, or at the very least to be rendered
speechless, entranced, and what not at the first intro-
duction to the falls. I regret to be obliged to
confess that no such violent effect has been pro-
duced on my hardened nerves, and yet I do think
them glorious, and though not astonished, on the other
hand, I am not disappointed. There is one peculiarity

48 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

in these falls which is unaccountable, that is, that
barring the noise, you can form a perfectly correct
estimate of the appearance of them from pictures,
even indifferent ones. This is very singular, as
generally speaking, falling water is precisely the
thing painting can rarely render natural, yet in this
instance there is an exception. The American Falls
are just opposite my windows, the larger one, called
.the Horse-shoe, a little further on in the distance.
Took a short walk to the far-famed Table-rock in
the afternoon, from the brink of which the Horse-
shoe Fall is seen in all its splendour.

29th. — Crossed to the American side by a suspension
bridge (something like the one at Friburg, but not
so fine), and went to Groat Island, whence we saw
the rapids to perfection. Then, after some con-
siderable clambering and climbing, slipping and
sliding, we made our way down nearly underneath
the American Fall. We were speedily enveloped in
the mist and spray, and, as may be supposed, nearly
deafened by the roar. Having sufficiently gazed
from below, we proceeded to re-ascend our difficult
path. At length we reached the summit, and then
drove along the shore to the rapids. A little round
tower like a lighthouse has been constructed in the
middle of the river, and is approached by means of a
bridge made of the trunks of trees. The tower is built
as near as safety will allow to the edge of the cataract.

NIAGARA UNDER THE HORSE-SHOE. 49

30^. — Embarked this morning in a steamer bear-
ing the romantic name of The Maid of the Mist.
Her travelling experiences have been few, as she was
built on the spot. She takes the same short voyage
three times every day, and is moored for the night at
the place of her birth. She goes bravely through
her task notwithstanding ; passing under and through
the torrent and mist of the American Falls, and as
close as prudence permits to the Horse-shoe, which is
by no means so placable as its neighbour, and
obliges one to keep at a very respectful distance.
What has charmed me most in our excursion to-day
has been the number and variety of rainbows : of all
hues and in every conceivable spot near the falls;
now arching over them, now dipping under them,
now shooting across, and occasionally forming a com-
plete circle. Spent the rest of the morning in Groat
Island, a delightful lounging-place, with every charm
that nature can give around you. I should not
greatly object to pitching my tent permanently at
Niagara. We reserve for this afternoon the bouquet
of our Niagara expedition, if such a term may be
used, applied to water as well as fire-works. It con-
sists in what is called going under the Horse-shoe Fall.
Having been ushered into a small dressing-room, we
were provided with the costume de rigueur on such
occasions : a pair of drawers and stockings of flannel,
then a pair oftrowsers and a dress of bloomer fashion,

50 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTEKN WORLD.

descending only to the knees, both made of india-
rubber, and lastly, a covering for the head of an in-
describable shape, something between a quakeress's
bonnet and a helmet. Thus elegantly equipped we
started, accompanied by four guides. Presently we
came to a sort of shelf or ledge cut out of the rock, a
most slippery place, and it was with great difficulty
we could keep our footing. Along this we proceeded
for some hundred yards or thereabouts, until we
found ourselves completely underneath, and in the
hollow of the arch formed by the leap of the im-
mense body of water from the rock above us. The
scene here was terrific, and rather calculated to shake
one's courage. The noise was awful ! added to which,
the blinding spray from the whirlpool boiling and
foaming below quite frustrated any attempt at using
our eyes, besides finding it very difficult to preserve
our equilibrium. At length we emerged in safety, but
drenched to the skin, notwithstanding our india-
rubber preservatives. •

3lst. — A comparatively idle morning passed in
my favourite nook on Groat Island. One might
dream away one's existence very pleasantly here.
The hand of man has fortunately left nature alone
in her, grandeur. The fine forest spreads its dark
masses far and wide undisturbed, and above all un-
improved by mortal touch. The stillness which
perhaps might otherwise be oppressive, being broken

AN ESCAPED SLATE — CHIPEWA INDIANS. 51

by the roar of the falling water, and the fluttering of
innumerable birds of a most brilliant orange colour,
who appear to have chosen this spot as their home.
As we were slowly wending our way back to the Clif-
ton House, we found ourselves in the midst of a very
unexpected scene of excitement. A slave had escaped
from the American side of the Niagara, and had
already swum nearly half-way across ; his pursuers
were frantically pushing off a boat; the suspense
then became painful, I have hardly yet recovered my
breath ; but it was all right at last, though a narrow
escape — the fugitive gained the Canadian shore, and
he was safe. I could not find out whether he had been
guilty of anything more than running away. Very
probably he had, and I have not the slightest doubt
he deserved to have been caught ; still my sympathies
are always with the hunted and not with the hunters,
under any circumstances. After dinner we took a
drive to the village of Chipewa, an Indian settlement
on the banks of the Niagara Eiver, and also the scene
of one of the many fights between the Americans and
ourselves during the war. It is now a quiet thriving
little place, where the Indians bring the specimens of
their handiwork for exhibition and sale to the nu-
merous visitors constantly passing to and fro. We
made several purchases of them. Their embroidery
is exceedingly pretty : shoes, card-cases, boxes made
of the skin and worked with the hair of the Moose-
D 2

52 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

deer, ingeniously dyed to the required tints of the
flowers or fruit it is worked to represent. Also they
make fans, screens, and other ornaments of eagles'
feathers in a most admirable manner.

LAKE ONTARIO — VALLEY OF NIAGARA. 53

CHAPTER IX.

i

September 2nd. — We are once more on the waste
of waters : out of sight of land, somewhere about the
middle of Lake Ontario ; so before we leave the
steamer, which we expect to do to-night, and conse-
quently will have fresh matter to relate, I will take
up the thread of my narrative from the time of
leaving Niagara. You will have observed that while
there I adopted the diary form, wishing to note down
the impressions of the moment. We took our de-
parture from the Clifton House yesterday morning.
A drive of eight miles on a tram-road brought us to
Queenstown, where we crossed the Niagara by means
of the suspension bridge, to Lewiston. This bridge is
said to be the largest in the world, but it does not
appear to me to be so wide nor so high as that at
Friburg; its length is 1040 feet. From the heights
above this town a most charming view is obtained of
the valley of Niagara and Lake Ontario. Here, too,
there was a very sanguinary engagement, in 1812,
between the United States and British forces, in

D 3

54 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

which the English General, Brock, was killed. A
column has been erected to his memory, but some
years ago it was blown up in the middle of the night
by some envious American. A good deal of it was
destroyed, and it looks now in a very shattered con-
dition. Some years ago there was an attempt made
to restore it, but this has been abandoned. — Apro-
pos of envy and jealousy, I forgot to mention that
while at Niagara Falls, during one of our excursions,
the spot was shown to us where, according to our
guide, one of the " decisive battles of the world " was
fought, and at which I need not say the English were
entirely defeated. — Lundy's Lane was the name of
the battle-field. After a short delay at Lewiston we
embarked on one of the largest and most magnificent
steam-boats imaginable (whence I am now writing).
It resembles a floating castle more than a ship, with
highly ornamented saloons and cabins built on deck;
the roofs of these again being carpeted so as to form
a place for walking; the whole surmounted by an
awning during the sunshiny hours. A little before
sunset we reached Toronto. Here we remained some
hours, but not having any introductions to any of the
inhabitants, I did not think it worth while to land, so
contented myself with its external appearance, which
is very handsome : houses and streets are large and
well-built. I am told its population has exactly
doubled itself in the past ten years I

AN ALARMING QUESTION. 55

have just met with a curious interruption, which I
will relate whilst the recollection of it is fresh on my
mind. A party of young girls, numbering about six
or seven, walked up to the table at which I am writ-
ing, and after a moment's pause thus addressed me,
" Miss ! Tell me now, where were you educated ?"
I certainly have seldom been more taken aback than
at this sudden query, for I feared I had unintention-
ally offended some one, though in what way I was
totally ignorant. However, I thought the simple truth
would be the best reply, so I answered, " Partly in
England, partly in France." The riddle was now
soon solved : it appears that when we first came on
board yesterday, they heard Eleanor and me talking
French together, as we very frequently do, conse-
quently we were set down as French ; but this morn-
ing, on finding us equally familiar with the English
tongue, they determined to resolve their doubts then
and there, and so took this singular method of doing
so. We have now had a very amicable conversation,
and have given each other some mutual information
about the manners and customs of our respective
countries. They are travelling in a party of eight, and
are about to make a vacation tour in Canada. Though
to us it seems strange, it is quite a common practice
here for a lot of school girls to join together on the
breaking up of the colleges and schools, and make a
summer holiday trip wherever they may feel inclined,

D 4

56 WANDEBIN&S IN THE WESTERN WOULD.

and unchaperoned by fathers, mothers, or governesses.
Last night, towards twelve o'clock, there appeared a
very beautiful aurora borealis, which illuminated the
heavens in a wondrous manner. We are just now
arriving at Kingston, where I believe there will be a
change of steam-boats : the colossal affair we are now
in not being adapted to some of the narrow channels
through which we shall have to thread to-morrow.
So adieu for the present : my next will probably be

from Montreal.

Always your affectionate

C.

Since writing the above I find we are to anchor
hefe for the night, and take the other steamer to-
morrow: plenty of daylight being necessary during
the passage of the St. Lawrence.

RIVER ST. LAWRENCE —THOUSAND ISLES.

CHAPTEE X.

MY DEAR FATHER, — At an early hour of the morning
after our arrival at Kingston we commenced our voy-
age down the river St. Lawrence. In about a couple
of hours we came to the "Thousand Isles," a
numerous group so called, among which we threaded
our way for some time. These islets are very cele-
brated for their beauty, though, individually, I
should call them more curious than picturesque;
moreover, some of them are really too small to be
dignified by the name of islands, being merely little
beds of earth. Indeed, the whole collection conveys
the idea of having once been a good-sized piece of
land, now broken into a number of small portions
and tossed into the water. The surrounding scenery
on the green banks of the St. Lawrence is, however,
very pleasant to look upon. The navigation of the
rapids, a little below the " Thousand Isles," now en-
gaged our attention. They are very dangerous, and
require, even in a steam-boat, most careful manage-
ment. The river rushes along most furiously, and all
D 5

58 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

around, in most unpleasant propinquity, rise huge
rocks, threatening destruction to all who approach
them, and against any one of which, had we struck,
we must have gone to pieces and probably perished in
a moment. We fortunately, however, had a steady
and skilful commander, and in due time we were
clear of all difficulties. Near these rapids, by the
bye, is laid the scene of the famous Canadian boat-
song, " Eow, brothers, row." The singers were in
ancient days the fur traders of Montreal, who were in
the habit of ascending the Ottawa Eiver, which is
just above these rapids, to sell their goods to the In-
dians. They used to stop at a church on an island
dedicated to Saint Ann, their tutelary saint, and offer
their orisons to her : hence the allusion you will
remember in the song : " We'll raise to St. Ann," &c.
A pleasant sail for two or three hours more brought
us to Montreal, the first impression of which is most
agreeable. I was quite rejoiced to see the English
flag flying once more. Not that it can be compared
in point of beauty to the stars and stripes ; still it is
more comfortable to see the English flag where you
hear the English tongue. Having established our-
selves in the best quarters we could find at Done-
gana's Hotel, Montreal being at present very crowded,
we proceeded to employ the remaining hour or two
of daylight in reconnoitring the town and neighbour-
hood. The scenery I find remarkably pretty, and,

MONTREAL GREAT FIRE CONVENTS. 59

moreover, the city has an air of comfort, and to a cer-
tain extent of antiquity, rarely to be seen in the States.
We drove for a short distance along the base of the
Montreal Mountain, as it is called par excellence, and
then made the ascent. The view from its summit
is most picturesque, — green undulating land dotted
with country houses and cottages, with beautiful gar-
dens and trees. This morning we visited the Cathe-
dral, and one or two other churches, but they are in
nowise remarkable, at least they look paltry after the
splendour of the Catholic churches in Europe. The
scene of the terrible fire which occurred here three
years ago was pointed out to us. It has fearfully de-
vastated a great part of the town. It seems difficult
to understand how such a fire could have lasted so
long a time and have done so much mischief, as the
houses were not built of wood, which I had always
imagined to be the case ; yet the flames raged and
raged on in spite of every effort, and for some time
burst forth again and .again, notwithstanding several
houses being blown up in order to create a blank
space and check the progress of the conflagration.
We went also to visit a convent belonging to the
order of Les Sceurs Grises. There are, I believe, a
great number of religious houses of this description
in Montreal. These sisters do much good in the
town, attending the sick, comforting the unhappy,
and besides they take a number of children, orphans,

D 6

60 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

foundlings, and others, whom they feed, clothe, and
educate. We visited the various rooms and saw the
children at their different occupations. They all
looked both healthy and happy. Having seen all
that was worthy of especial note down below, inclu-
ding a most beautiful and wonderful garden, belong-
ing to a Montreal merchant, whose name I forget,
but who has collected here everything which is rich
and rare, in shrub or flower, we proceeded to drive
up the Mountain again, to see what used to be the
governor of Canada's country residence, but which is
now turned into a sort of cafe where you eat ices,
lunch, &c. The house is handsome, and the view all
round exceedingly fine. Lord Elgin used to stay
here a good deal, but since the riots which took place
some time ago, on the subject of the Eebels Indem-
nity Bill, as I think it was called, the seat of govern-
ment has been transferred to Quebec ; and although
Lord E. has been repeatedly entreated to return to
Montreal, he has refused. I hear they treated
him with great indignity and acted very disgrace-
fully. Our driver gave us a very amusing ac-
count of the proceedings on that memorable day.
From an early hour in the morning every one who
possessed any eggs was waylaid, and their'eggs bought
for whatever they chose to ask, but if they refused to
sell they were taken from them by force ; and thus
armed they awaited Lord Elgin's sortie, when imme-

MONTREAL QUEBEC — HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM. 61

diately he appeared the signal was given, and from
far and near, from right and left, from above and be-
low, came the shower of eggs. Though rather ludi-
crous, after all it was excessively insulting, and I
don't wonder at his refusal to take up his abode with
such hosts. ' The grievance complained of was, that
by this obnoxious bill the innocent and loyal subjects
who had made no disturbance were taxed, or in some
way made to pay, for repairing the damage done to
property by the insurgents. This does seem rather
hard certainly. However, I am only able to relate
one side, so of course can form no opinion on the real
merits of either. The chief cause of complaint
against Lord Elgin was, that although he knew how
very objectionable and unpopular this measure was,
he did not even try to throw the responsibility off his
own shoulders, which he might have done, by sending
it to England for approval, but, on the contrary, took
it all on himself and signed it. We returned, shortly
after hearing all this, to our hotel. At 6 P.M. we left
in the Countess of Elgin steamer, for Quebec, where
we landed on Sunday morning, 4th September. The
harbour and shipping ; the old-fashioned houses clus-
tered one above another up the steep hill-side ; the
beautiful St. Lawrence ; and lastly, the renowned
heights of Abraham frowning above all, give Quebec
a most imposing appearance. Our eyes were still
further gladdened by the sight of red coats on landing,

62 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

and our ears by the merry sound of the bugle calling
our own regiments to parade.

Now I shall despatch this at once, and give Quebec
a letter to itself: till when good bye.

Ever yours,

C.

HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM — GENERAL WOLFE. 63

CHAPTEE XL

Russell's Hotel, Quebec, September 5th. — My dear
Father, — If I remember rightly, my last letter was
closed at the moment of our arrival at Quebec. With
as little delay as possible, our time of sojourn here
being limited, we commenced making acquaintance
with the objects of interest appertaining to the place,
and of these the first chosen was the scene of the
battle, of course — the gallant attack and final cap-
ture of the citadel by General Wolfe. The " Heights
of Abraham " is a singular appellation, but I can find
no means of enlightenment here as to the origin of
the name. There is a fine monument erected on the
spot where Wolfe fell (almost in the moment of
victory), but it is sadly defaced by the relic-hunting
people who have come here at different times, and
who have actually hewn off bits of the stone of
which it is composed in some of the most prominent
places. From Cape Diamond, the promontory on
which the citadel is built, the view is magnificent.
The St. Lawrence is seen winding its silvery way

64 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

through forests and through ravines till it gradually
fades in the distance, while close beneath us, ships of
all nations, some in movement, some riding at anchor,
give life and cheerfulness to the scene. On leaving
the heights to descend to the lower world, we entered
a garden attached to the Government house. This was
once private, but is now given up to the public as a
sort of pleasure ground. There stands in this garden
a fine pillar, erected to the memory of the two rival
commanders of the English and French armies dur-
ing the memorable siege. Singularly enough, they
were both mortally struck almost at the same moment,
although Montcalm survived a few hours. The
monument bears an inscription — short, yet eloquent,
consisting only of the two names : — " Wolfe,"
" Montcalm," on either side. On quitting the gar-
den, the custode presented us with two very hand-
some bouquets which he had gathered for us while
we were moralising over the memento to the rival
heroes. Quebec, the old part of it at least, is most
irregularly built; the houses sometimes, when seen
from a little distance, give the idea of being piled one
upon the top of another ; but this very peculiarity
renders it far more picturesque than the newer and
more irreproachably precise towns we have travelled
through in the States. There are two cathedrals,
one Protestant, the other Catholic, and no end of
nunneries and sisterhoods of various denominations.

MONTCALM — FALLS OP MONTMORENCY. 65

In the chapel of the Ursuline convent Montcalm is
buried; on his tomb is the following inscription:
" Honneur a Montcalm. Le destin en lui derobant la
victoire 1'a recompense par une mort glorieuse."
After visiting severally the above-mentioned places,
we engaged a carriage for the purpose of taking us to
the Falls of Montmorency, which we reached after a
drive of eight miles through very fine scenery. I
was both astonished and delighted with this waterfall,
all the more so, perhaps, that I had heard nothing
about it beforehand. Were it not heresy to confess
such an opinion, I am not sure that I do not admire
this as much as Niagara. There is not, indeed, such
an immense body of falling water ; but then the height
is twice as great, and the surrounding scenery is far
more wild and romantic. Byron's description of the
"Hell of Waters " is thoroughly realised here. The
falls are encircled by huge black rocks, and beyond
them nothing but the wide expanse of the river.

5th. — This morning was ushered in by a frost,
and altogether a bitterly cold day, — quite time to get
back to the tropics, I think. We went after break-
fast to see the great stronghold of Quebec, the Cita-
del, but with the exception of some " lovely soldiers"

as used to call them, and a tame bear belonging

to one of the regiments, there was nothing to detain
or attract unprofessional, that is, non-military visitors ;
besides, we were nearly blown away by a piercing

65 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

east wind. We purpose leaving here this evening en
route to the South, so I shall probably post this pre-
vious to our departure. Quebec, Montreal, indeed I
may say, Canada generally, has pleased me much.
The people are so gentle, civil, and above all, so
polished in manner. They combine a good deal of
the old French school of thorough politeness with
our natural characteristic of frankness, without rude-
ness. Few amalgamations can, I think, be more really
allied to perfection than this, and I regret leaving it
as much as it is possible (for me, at least) to regret
leaving a cold severe climate for a more genial atmo-
sphere In consequence of a slight accident

which occurred to some part of the steamer's ma-
chinery, a delay of some hours has ensued. We shall
soon be off now, however, so I will close my letter.
This night's journey will only be retracing our steps
as far as Montreal.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

FAREWELL TO CANADA — LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 67

CHAPTER XII.

Albany, September 1th. — You will see by the
date of this, my dear father, that we are now con-
siderably advanced on our return journey to New
York, hoping to reach there without misadventure
this evening. We landed at Montreal yesterday
morning, but were unfortunately too late for the
fast train; our progress therefore was tedious and
fatiguing. The first portion, notwithstanding, was
not unpleasant, as we had plenty of time to see the
different places through which we passed, and also
to admire the scenery of Lake Champlain, on the
margin of which our route lay for some considerable
distance, till we reached a town called Burlington,
a busy thriving place, and apparently a central point
of communication by land and water to all parts.
We observed several fine steamers as well as other
vessels. Had the weather been warmer it would
doubtless have been a pleasanter mode of travelling
to have descended the lake by boat instead of " car ; "
but it is far too cold for aquatic excursions in these

68 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

northern parts. The same reason will prevent our
going down the Hudson, which, as I said, had been
our previous plan. Soon after leaving Burlington,
the night began to close in upon us, and the most
disagreeable part of the journey ensued. About
two o'clock this morning we arrived at a village
rejoicing in the name of Eutland, and which will
long remain most unfavourably fixed in our memory
by the privations we had to endure. It should
appear, that Rutland is one of the places subject to
the operation of the "Maine Liquor Law;" and you
may judge how comfortable it was to be informed
that the only refreshment we could obtain, hungry,
cold, and weary as we were, was their horrid iced
water ! wine not being permitted to enter the State
(Vermont I believe it was) ; and the fires being all
out, we could not get a cup of tea or coffee ! In
this hospitable region we were condemned to remain
for upwards of two hours, getting colder and colder
with the approach of dawn ! At length, as all
things must have an end, we made a fresh start ;
and in course of time stopped at Saratoga, where I
must do people the justice to say an excellent break-
fast was provided, though I was half afraid, after the
experience of the past night, that we might only
be offered some of the mineral waters for which
Saratoga is celebrated. This watering-place is the
Baden-Baden of America. All the grand monde

SARATOGA — TROY — ALBANY. 69
i

flock here in the season ; some to drink the waters,
some to dress, some to flirt. In short, the nature
of these spas seems to be morally the same all the
world over. Saratoga, or rather " The Springs," which
is the more common appellation, being now deserted
for this season, most of the hotels, boarding-houses,
&c., are closed until next summer. The next station
of importance we came to bore the classic name
of Troy, but as we only remained a few minutes I
cannot tell whether it deserves so high-sounding
a one ; still less whether there are any grounds for
bestowing the respective titles of Mount Olympus
and Mount Ida, on two pieces of high ground,
scarcely hills, situated on the northern and southern
environs of the town. A short run of only seven
miles brought us here, the prettiest spot (barring-
New York) I have yet seen in the States, built on the
side of a hill bathed by the river Hudson. Albany
offers a most commanding appearance. The various
public buildings, too, are constructed and placed with
equally good judgment and good taste. Of these
the most conspicuous is the City Hall, almost in the
centre of the town, the dome of which is gilt, con-
sequently a passing sunbeam falling on it renders it
visible at a great distance. I am sorry our time
will not allow us more than this superficial view, as
we doubtless might find much that would interest
on a closer examination. Albany received its name

70 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

from our James the Second, when Duke of York
and Albany, to whom a grant of the New York
territory was made by his brother Charles after his
successful contest with the Dutch in 1664. . . .
We are now once more at New York, having re-
sumed our journey from Albany half an hour after
the above lines were written. Nothing of moment
occurred on the road until we were within a couple
of miles of our destination, when we had the mis-
fortune to run against a horse attached to a cart
imprudently left too near the line of rails. The
poor animal was killed on the spot, fortunately,
in a moment, but it was a shocking sight to witness.
. . . . I regret very much to find that we must
relinquish our intended visit to New Orleans and the
Mississippi. This is a great disappointment. I had
planned it all so well, and was anticipating a most
agreeable expedition, purposely reserved till the last,
as, from all I have heard, it is the best worth visiting
of all the wonders of the United States. But I'homme
propose et Dieu dispose. The yellow fever is raging
there with such intensity that it would be wicked-
ness as well as folly to make the attempt. The
latest accounts are most terrible. The devastation
has been so great and so general as to give the town
the appearance of a city of the dead. Trade and
commerce, even, have almost ceased temporarily. As
this may materially alter our future movements, I

RETURN TO NEW YORK. 71

shall bring this letter to a sudden close and despatch
it by to-morrow's mail ; but you may expect to
hear very shortly again, informing you of whatever
fresh projects we may indulge in. Meanwhile I am
ever your affectionate,

C.

72 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XIII.

New York, September 12th. — My dear Father, —
Since returning from our Canadian excursion, we
have been occupied in revisiting the principal objects
of attraction in New York, besides adding some to our
list which had been previously omitted. Strangers here
make a point of going over the splendid hotels, just
as elsewhere one would visit the churches, or in
London the clubs. To these last, the New York
hotels bear indeed the principal resemblance. The
St. Nicholas is, I think, the finest specimen : its
fapade of white marble beautifully sculptured, and
the interior very like the Reform Club. In addition
to the public living rooms there are some very
magnificently decorated and furnished ' ' bridal cham-
bers " for the especial benefit of newly married people
who may have the moral courage to go and spend
their honeymoon en evidence before all the world.
But I believe the American couples do not make
any objection. The St. Nicholas is no less than

NEW YORK HOTELS — CHRISTY'S SONGS. 73

six stories high. There are also the Metropolitan,
the New York, the Astor House, and Delmonico's, all
hotels more or less celebrated. We found Taylor's,
a fine establishment on the principle of the Parisian
Restaurants, to be very well worth a visit. The
saloon where you dine or sup is scarcely inferior to
" Les trois Freres " in magnificence and decoration,
though, by a curious singularity of taste, it is sub-
terranean. We went with our friends the D.'s the
night before last to supper there, and had a most
excellent repast. Some of the most appreciated
specimens of the New York cuisine were ordered,
so that we might know what was considered best.
Fish they cook in great perfection ; oysters espe-
cially, they dress in innumerable ways. Two dishes
I remarked as particularly worthy of commendation,
were woodcocks stewed with truffles and ecrevisses,
and ham boiled in champagne. Previously to this
supper party we had been to Christy's and heard
some new songs. One I must tell you all about ; the
enthusiastic manner in which it was received, show-
ing pretty plainly what Mrs. Beecher Stowe may
expect if she returns to her "am countrie." The
song purported to be concerning some one called
" Aunt Sarah ; " but was evidently directed to her.
The first line I could not catch, but apostrophising
Aunt Sarah it continued thus : —

74 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

" Go talk against your country !
Put money in your purse !
But when the happy 'Darkie'
You mention in your prayer,
Just don't forget the white slave
That's starving over there ! "

I never heard such a cheer in my life as burst forth
at these words ; it was positively terrific. I should
not like to be in Mrs. S.'s place if she were to come
back before her country people have time to cool
down. They seem inclined to make her pay rather
dearly for what she has written ; but, from all I can
gather at present, the Americans, and especially the
American women, are annoyed that a party of English
women, including members of our aristocracy, should
have (to speak plainly), without knowing what they
were talking about, issued a sort of manifesto con-
taining a number of positive errors in point of fact,
and arguing upon premises and assumptions which
did not exist. So say the people here, at least ; for
my part, I know nothing of the matter, pour ou
contre, beyond trying, but unsuccessfully, to wade
through " Uncle Tom/' by which I obtained as much,
or rather more, information on the subject than I re-
quired. . . . Yesterday we paid a visit to the
Croton Waterworks, a wonderful monument of human
industry. The great reservoir is said to be five miles
long, and is able to contain five million gallons of
water. This being forty miles off we did not see, but

CROTON WATERWORKS — STEAM FERRY-BOATS. 75

contented ourselves with the more easily attained
portion of the works where the aqueduct crosses the
Harlem Kiver, at a distance of about eight miles.
This spot is called the High Bridge, and well merits
the slight trouble of the excursion. The view is fine,
I should think, under all circumstances, but especi-
ally now that the trees are beginning to wear their
autumnal tints; the hues are so dazzling, so rich, so
varied, that I must renounce, as hopeless, any effort
at description, for I am sure you would accuse me of
exaggeration. For my own part, were I to see, or
rather to have seen, such colours transferred to can-
vass, I should have unhesitatingly exclaimed, " That is
unnatural ! " I must not forget to notice in this chro-
nicle of things new and strange the steam ferry-boats
which we have now used on several occasions, in the
course of our excursions to the various environs of the
city : viz., New Jersey, Brooklyn, Staten Island, &c.
Their appearance is that of a little floating town.
Seen at a short distance, one might fancy a block of
houses had detached itself from the remainder of the
street, and gone for an aquatic promenade, accom-
panied by all the men, women, children, horses, car-
riages, carts, pigs, dogs, baskets, and wheelbarrows it
could find on the way. A voyage in one of these
monster conveyances is one of the most amusing
incidents in the New York life, at least to a stranger.
We have paid several visits to the Great Exhibition

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76 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

which has been opened here in imitation of the Lon-
don building. This too is chiefly of glass. It is
in a circular form, but much smaller and every way
inferior to ours. It is, however, a very good bazaar,
but that is all ; moreover, I am informed it is a mere
private speculation, and that, consequently, the Pre-
sident was rather embarrassed at finding Lord Elles-
mere was sent on behalf of our Queen.

This is our last day at New York. We are to sail
to-morrow, bound for Mexico, as the few hurried lines
I last wrote will have informed you ; I will have a
letter all prepared to despatch from Havana, giving
you the latest intelligence. Till then adieu.
Your ever affectionate,

C.

NEW YORK — DISAPPOINTMENT.

CHAPTEK XIV.

New York (Astor House), September 16th. — My
dear Father, — Behold us here still, in spite of all our
anticipatipns to the contrary. A most untoward acci-
dent has occurred. We proceeded, according to ar-
rangement, on the morning of the 13th, to the quay of
embarkation, having taken our berths in the Crescent
City, bound for Havana. On reaching the pier with
our luggage and all prepared for the voyage, we were
very coolly told that the Crescent City had taken her
departure for California the night before ! It appears
that the Georgia (another of the same Company's
vessels), which had started for California some days
previously, broke down when off Cape Hatteras ; the
Crescent City being the only other boat ready, she
was sent to the assistance of the Georgia and her
passengers, and we poor unfortunate mortals were
plantes la. After a long delay and an immense deal
of talking, they at last promised to forward us by
another boat called the George Law, though not be-
fore this (the 16th), and at night, for the very unsatis-

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78 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

factory reason that this vessel, the George Law, is
not yet quite finished ! All this is exceedingly
vexatious, for, among other consequences, this delay
may make us too late for the English steamer due at
Havana on the 24th, in which event farewell to our
contemplated trip to Mexico.

7 o'clock, P.M. — We are off at last

YERA CRUZ DISASTERS AND DISCOMFORTS. 79

CHAPTEE XV.

Vera Cruz, September 28th. — At length we have
safely passed the dangers and overcome the delays of
our voyage, and have landed here all well this morn-
ing. Nearly the whole of the first part of our pro-
gress after leaving New York consisted, however, of
a series of disasters and discomforts ; and although we
fortunately reached Havana in time to catch the Mex-
ican mail, we nevertheless took eight days in accom-
plishing what is usually done in four, namely, the
passage between the two ports.

As I before mentioned, the vessel was in a very
unfinished condition, and among the minor evils we
had to endure was the sticking to everything we
touched, the paint and varnish being quite fresh :
then in the hurry of departure they had forgotten to
provide lamps to light either the saloon or cabins, so
at sunset we were obliged to turn into our berths,
until the weather getting warmer as we approached
Havana enabled us to stay on deck at night. Last
and worst of all, when we had been at sea barely

E 4

S3 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WOELD.

two days we were alarmed in the middle of the night
by the vessel suddenly coining to a dead stop. Soon one
passenger after another stole up to inquire what had
happened, but did not come down again ; so, to end
this state of suspense, I dressed myself as well as I
could in the dark and went on deck. All the in-
formation I could get from the captain, who was in a
shockingly bad humour, was that something, I forget
what, had burst, but there was no danger, " if the
weather kept calm." This was anything but pleasant
intelligence ; luckily, however, the calm continued,
and with our disabled engine we reached Havana at
length, as I have said, in seven days more. Since
the accident we proceeded, I am informed, at the rate
of three knots an hour only. We had no sails either,
that part of the " fixings," like many others, not being
completed. But from Havana I am glad to say all
has gone prosperously. A sunny sky and a calm sea.
We passed in safety the famous fi Alacranes," Anglice
" Scorpions," a dangerous reef of rocks so called ; the
terror of all sea-going people in these parts. Besides
the ordinary danger of being driven upon them in
stormy weather, there is the additional peril of a cur-
rent so strong as to render it excessively difficult,
under the most favourable circumstances, to keep a
correct "reckoning," as I believe it is nautically
termed, consequently many have been the ships
drawn to their destruction. Even steamers do not

ST. JEAN D'ULLOA — VERA CRUZ — SOPILOTES. si

escape sometimes : within the last ten years, two of
the West India packets have been wrecked on the
Alacranes. Before casting anchor in the bay of Yera
Cruz we passed the famous castle and fortress of St.
Jean d'Ulloa. It seems much the worse for the siege
by the Prince de Joinville in 1838. The country has
been also in too disturbed a state, apparently, to
allow of reparations being made. Landed at nine
o'clock, and in consequence of the English consul
having written a very civil note, putting himself and
all he possessed at my disposition, we went at once to
his house and were received most cordially. Found
a large budget of letters from England awaiting us,
and after having perused them and made necessary
inquiries concerning the ways and means of journey-
ing to Mexico from here, we went to the Hotel de las
Diligencias, where we shall remain until to-morrow
afternoon. I am rather agreeably surprised with
the general appearance of Vera Cruz, having heard it
described as a " hole ;" in short, as 'everything that was
bad, whereas I find it anything but dirty, and toler-
ably wide streets, and by no means offensive looking,
rather the contrary. It has a look of antiquity, and, to a
certain degree, of sadness, but that rather adds to the
interest of its aspect. The first peculiarity I observed
was a crowd of vultures, called here " Sopilotes."
They hover about in all directions, looking for prey,
anything dead which may fall in their way. They

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82 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

are melancholy looking creatures, but quite tame.
Apropos of beasts of prey ; just before landing to-day,
we amused ourselves in watching the manoeuvres of
a shark who kept swimming all round us, apparently
in the hope of catching something good for his break-
fast. I fear he was disappointed in his expectations,
as, With the exception of a small piece of dry bread
which the cook had thrown at him) there was nothing
to satisfy his craving. At three o'clock we dined and
had our first experience of Mexican cookery. The
dishes are rather strongly seasoned with chilis, pep-
pers, &c., but no doubt, when once accustomed to the
cuisine I shall find it by no means bad. The sauces
are excellent, and very scientifically mixed. Took a
walk this evening with the young son of the Eagiish
consul, who good-naturedly volunteered to be our
cicerone. We directed our steps first to the Alameda,
a name given generally to the public promenades in
Mexico. The scene here was very pretty, and with
the adjuncts of a setting sun, a clear bright sky, and
an old ruined castle, was almost romantic. To-morrow
we start on our adventurous journey. I wonder what
will become of us between this and Mexico. We hear
wonderful tales of robbery, but we must hope for the
best. So now farewell for the present.

Your ever affectionate,
C.

JALAPA — DKEADFUL ROADS. 83

CHAPTER XVI.

Jalapa, September 30th.~ -My dear Father, — We
arrived here at 5 o'clock this afternoon, nine hours
after our time ; but the wonder seems to me that we
are here at all. Such roads ! or rather such a want
of them. The old adage came to my recollection,
" If you'd seen these roads before they were made,"
&c. But we have seen these. It is perfectly incom-
prehensible to me how any carriages built by mortal
hands could bear even one of the fearful knocks, or
rather I should say, leaps, of which we have been
suffering a succession to-day and last night. We had
generally eight horses or mules drawing us, and I do
not think I am exaggerating when I say that, during
the nineteen hours we have been on the road, we
have not passed over 100 yards of level ground;
stones, holes, rocks, sand-banks, chasms both wide
and deep — over all of which we made a succession of
leaps. In short, I am almost too much bruised and
shaken to describe our progress : if this continues, I
don't think we shall have a whole bone left in our

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84 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

bodies. To mend matters, we had to get out of the
diligence two or three times in the middle of the
night, and walk some distance through the mud and
in the dark, so as to lighten the conveyance sufficient-
ly to enable it to take a kind of flying leap over
some unusually wide chasm in the road. Apart from
these grievances, however, and when we could manage
to keep ourselves still for a few minutes at a time,
and look around us, the scenery was most lovely,
and the approach to Jalapa will never be effaced from
my recollection. How nature has showered every
beauty and every blessing on this land ! I have read
in fairy tales, and in descriptions of what Paradise
was supposed to be, of scenes something like this ;
but that such places really existed on the earth
I could not have believed unless I had come here.

October 1st. — We slept last night at Jalapa, being
far too much tired to attempt continuing our route,
so shall wait and take our chance of finding vacant
places in the carriage to-day. Eeceived a visit from
Mr. Kennedy, an English gentleman living here, and
to whom I had a le'tter of introduction, and who is
to show us all the beauties of Jalapa if we should
not leave this afternoon. Meanwhile, as I was wri-
ting the above, I was interrupted by the diligence
dashing or rather leaping up to the door, and finding
that there were two vacant places we were soon again
en route. As we advanced, the scenery was, if po^si-

TREES AND PARASITES — PEROTE. 85

ble, even more enchanting than on the other side of
Jalapa. The most distinguishing feature, at least, so
it appears to me, is the profusion — the wilderness of
flowers spread on every side. The ground is literally
enamelled with them, and every tree and shrub
loaded with the most beautiful and brilliant hued
parasites clinging and creeping to the topmost boughs
of even the highest trees. So dazzling an array of
colours I never saw grouped together — crimson, scar-
let, blue, orange, purple, of all forms and sizes, and
last, though not least in loveliness, the pure white
blossoms of the datura, the most ordinary of wild
flowers here, and named "El Floripundio." The
snowy peak of Orizava, which we had constantly in
sight yesterday, was now hidden from our view. I
believe the next mountain of importance we shall
make acquaintance with will be the Cofre de Perote,
about half way between Vera Cruz and Mexico.

October 4;th, Hotel San Augustin, Mexico. — We
reached here yesterday at 4 P.M., after several hair-
breadth escapes and adventures which I shall now
try to record ; but the constant travelling and exces-
sive fatigue quite prevented me writing daily since
quitting Jalapa. On that same night, the 1st Octo-
ber, got to Perote about 11 o'clock, a dismal-looking
place, and where we had to sleep almost in a stable
yard — that is, our bed-room was only separated by
means of a glass door from the various denizens of

86 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

the stable and farm. The sleeping, however, was
but nominal, as we were aroused again at three in
the morning, and tired, cold, and exhausted, with
sleepy companions and a lowering sky we set forth
on our night march. The only satisfactory reflexion
we enjoyed being, that we were provided with an
armed escort ; as soon as daylight appeared, however,
they left us.

MEXICO — PUEBLA — ANQEL's HAIR. 87

CHAPTER XVII.

October 2nd. — This day's journey was very tedious and
wearying, an almost constant ascent. The air becom-
ing colder and colder, the country arid and sandy.
The flowers had left us, and in their stead there was
little to be seen save some dwarf pines and patches
of brushwood here and there, but all the rest a sandy
waste. Above all loomed the black and gloomy
Cofre de Perote, so named from the summit of the
mountain being shaped like a box or chest, for which
" Cofre " is the Spanish word. Towards the end of
the day, however, matters began again to improve,
and I have no doubt, if we had been able to distin-
guish the scenery, we should have been better pleased;
but it was seven o'clock when we reached Puebla, and
very nearly dark. There we enjoyed a refreshing
night's rest, preceded by an excellent supper. We
were offered, among other dishes, some very nice
preserve, called Cabella de Angel, or Angel's hair,
a fanciful and pretty name. It has the appearance
of long golden threads, and tastes like crystallised

88 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

sugar. I could not make out of what it was made.
At a little village on our road to day, we had for the
first time some pulque, the national and favourite
drink of the Mexicans. It is most abominable both
in scent and taste ; yet it is said, that although the
first impression with every one is the same, that
nevertheless in a very short time you not only get
accustomed to it, but become most inordinately fond
of it. This may be so, but I do not think we shall
be long enough in Mexico to acquire the taste.
" Pulque " is made, I believe, from the flower of
the maguey plant, a sort of large aloe, which grows
in profusion all over the country. Hedges and
fences are here made by nature, both of the maguey
and the prickly pear. The latter is generally called
by its Indian name, "Nopal," and is used as the
national emblem on the coins, like our rose, thistle,
and shamrock. We must hope for an opportunity
of seeing Puebla on our return, as this time, having
arrived after dark and started before four in the
morning, we were unable to judge of its appearance.
In point of size and population it is the next to Mexico.
Yesterday, though the last day of our journey hither,
was the most fertile in adventure. First of all, we
had to pass through the " robbers' tract " of country,
and were for some hours in momentary expectation
of being attacked. The spot chosen by these heroes
for their depredations is singularly well adapted for

DEAD ROBBER — SPEEDY PUNISHMENT. 8S

the purpose ; a dark thick wood concealing two deep
ravines on either side, rocks and caves in all direc-
tions, afford excellent ground for ambuscade and
sudden attacks on the unwary. This part of the
country is very appropriately named the " Black
Hole." We were fortunately, however, quittes
pour la peur, and saw no living robber. But about
three miles after leaving Eio Frio, a small village
.where we had stopped to breakfast, we were horrified
at passing, within a distance of half a yard, the body
of a man hung to the branches of a tree by a cord
passed round his waist. The upper part of his
body was naked and much stained with blood, ap-
parently recently shed. It was a shocking spec-
tacle, but what his history was we had yet to learn.
On reaching Mexico in the evening, we heard
to our consternation that the diligence, which
left Vera Cruz the day before us (and in which I was
rather vexed at not being able to secure places), had
been robbed on the road, and everything taken from
the passengers. A young man, Mr. Buchanan, one
of our fellow voyagers in the Avon to Vera Cruz,
begged the bandits to let him keep his desk, after
they should have convinced themselves that it con-
tained nothing but private papers of his own,
and of no use to any one else. The man of whom
he asked this favour consented, and was about to
give him back his desk, when one of the robbers

90 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

demurred, and insisted on taking it. It was this
very man who was shot, and whose body we saw
hanging to the tree. It appeared that the dili-
gence, having met a party of soldiers soon after their
attack, told them what had occurred, and on which
they had immediately proceeded to the scene of
action. Before long they overtook the gang, shot
one dead, as it happened, he who had the desk in
his hands, and wounded two of the others. They
hung up the dead man at once to a tree, as a
warning. All robbers now caught are instantly
shot without trial, and their bodies hung up in
terrorem as a warning to others. This is Santa
Anna's last edict. A dreadfully severe one, certainly,
and yet it seems impossible to remedy the evil.
The constant revolutions and changes of government
in this distracted country have the effect of ren-
dering the law a dead letter. To turn from this
unpleasant theme, I must note down some observa-
tions on the world-famed valley of Mexico, as the
view of it bursts, or ought to burst, on the sight on
attaining the (( heights " about forty miles from the
city. After traversing many miles of unceasing toil,
jumps, jolts, and leaps, we at length gained the long-
wished for eminence whence Mexico in all her glory
should have shown herself to our longing gaze. But,
alas for mortal expectations ! the clouds had col-
lected deeply and thickly, and of the splendid pano-

SNOW-CROWNED VOLCANOES. 91

rama we had anticipated scarcely two-thirds were
visible. The two snow-crowned volcanoes, Popocate-
petl and Iztaccihuatl, were completely shrouded in
mist ; so that altogether we must class the " view " as
a dreamy to come true in the future I hope. To-day
we have done nothing beyond "fixing" ourselves,
as the Yankees say, — installed ourselves comfortably
in our rooms, unpacked our things, and received a
visit from our Minister, Mr. Doyle ; after which we
occupied ourselves till dusk in looking out of the
window, here a very edifying employment, when
every human being that passes is a picture in him
or herself. We took a short walk this evening in
the Plaza. The people most do congregrate in a
part of it called las Cadences, from the chains
linking together the rails in front of the cathedral.
I shall now conclude this long letter, hoping it may
reach its destination safely.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

92 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XVIII.

Mexico, Hotel San Augustin, October 9th. — My

dear Father, I hope this will be an acceptable

present to you, being the only birth-day memorial
circumstances at this moment allow of my sending.
We found full occupation the first morning or two
after our arrival in making topographical discoveries,
and tracing out a few plans of our future movements.
In the former there is not much difficulty, for the
streets are large, wide, and run chiefly at right aogles
from one another. It is a very beautiful town, judg-
ing of it even by its external appearance only :• it may
well be called a city of palaces, for I do not recollect
observing a single poor or mean-looking house in it.
The extreme clearness of the atmosphere causes even
the far-distant mountains to appear close at the end
of the vista formed in every street ; yet the nearest
mountain is forty miles off. .... When cliez moi I
find the attraction of the balcony almost irresistible.
The men with their graceful " serapes," and the
women with their ungraceful " rebosos " — the dark

MEXICAN PEOPLE. 93

eyes and swarthy complexions common to both sexes ;
then add to these the singular, and, in some instances,
musical cries of the various vendors of goods, eata-
bles, and drinkables, and you have a scene quite
unsurpassable in its way. The varieties of com-
plexion are curious ; every shade from pale yellow to
dark copper colour is to be found here. The "serape "
is a kind of double blanket of the most brilliant and
varied hues : a hole in the centre admits the head of
the wearer, and the two ends may be worn either
simply hanging down from the neck, before and
behind, or may be twisted round the body, or thrown
mantilla-fashion over the shoulders. Among other
natural curiosities I saw an Indian chief going to sell
some embroidered things at market. He was dressed
in a tunic of fur, and wore a beautiful crown of
ostrich feathers on his head. I do not think the
Mexican people have good expressions, though their
features are generally handsome; but they have a
downward look about the eyes which is unpleasant,
and gives one the idea of their having some mischief
always lurking somewhere. They are a strange peo-
ple from all accounts : they would think nothing of
murdering you, with or without reason ; yet they are
as civil, as kind, as ready to oblige, as warm in man-
ner, and as anxious to please, as if your pleasure was
their only care, and that not only to strangers but to
each other. It is difficult to reconcile this apparent

94 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

warm-heartedness with the cruel and blood-thirsty
natures they show sometimes.

We rode on horseback yesterday morning to Cha-
pultepec, accompanied by Mr. Berkeley and Mr.
Portman, the two attaches. A most beautiful ride,
and affording a far finer view of Mexico than from
the Vera Cruz side. This grand old place, so much
associated with some of the most stirring events con-
nected with the Mexican Conquest and the history of
the days of Cortez and Montezuma, must look very
different now from what was its aspect then : so dif-
ferent, indeed, that, could any of the actors in those
scenes now rise from their graves and look upon it,
I should doubt their being able to recognise, in the
stately but sad Chapultepec of the present day, the
bright and flowery gardens of which we read so
charming a description in the glowing pages of
Prescott. Here is to be seen one of the few excep-
tions to the rule of the unchangeableness of nature.
Scarcely three hundred years have elapsed, yet what
is now covered with corn-fields, potatoes, tobacco, and
other necessaries of life to the modern Mexican, was
then a vast lake, reflecting on its glassy surface the
cypress trees and pleasure gardens of this favourite
resort of Montezuma. The aqueduct, too, now
broken and in ruins, like those on the old Eoman
Campagna, then conveyed its pure and bountiful sup-
plies to all the thirsty city. On the other hand, the

CASTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC. 95

most striking feature now offered to the eye is the
magnificent castle or stronghold, built on the summit
of the porphyry rock, once the burial place of the
Indian kings. One of the Spanish vice-kings, named
Gralvez, was the projector and builder of this fortress,
towards the end of the last century. His avowed
purpose was simply the erection of a summer resi-
dence for his own pleasure, but as the work of con-
struction advanced it assumed so greatly the form of
a fortification, which in such a neighbourhood was
considered by the Government at home, and not
unreasonably, I think, as too regal an abode for a
subject, and consequently it was annexed by the
Crown, though unlike some other annexations I have
heard of, Gralvez, the original owner, was well com-
pensated for his outlay. But the building was never
furnished internally, having, even in its present state,
says Madame Calderon de la Barca, cost the Spanish
300,000 dollars. The general appearance, shape,
and situation of the Castle of Chapultepec reminds
me very much (its colour only excepted) of the old
Grerman fortress of Heidelberg. The rocky and
wooded hill, the river and the valley, with the fertile
plain spread beyond, mark both. Further the
parallel cannot be drawn, as from Heidelberg no
splendid imperial city can be seen. It would be
difficult indeed to find one in Europe now that could
compare in grandeur with Mexico. Eome or Athens

96 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

in former days might have done so, but in their
present state can scarcely even rival her in architec-
ture (barring always St. Peter's, which stands alone
" of temples old or altars new "). The present Ke-
publican Government have turned the old Castle into
a college, for teaching young military ideas how to
shoot. Entirely surrounding the sides and base of
the hill on which the Castle is built are the most
gigantic cypress trees that I imagine exist in the
•world ; their appearance is altogether so extraordi-
nary, that when once they have arrested the attention
it is difficult either to look at or think of anything
else. It is certain from the ancient chronicles and
accounts that have been handed down to us, that
these trees were not only living but had attained
their full growth at the time of Cortez's invasion and
conquest. One of these, called par excellence Mon-
tezuma's, is of the immense circumference of fifty feet.
They all now wear a most curious appearance ; a
kind of parasite, or moss of a greyish white colour,
twines about their trunks, and hangs in wild profu-
sion from their branches. It has the exact appear-
ance of long grey hair, and, especially being con-
trasted with the deep almost black colour of the
cypress branches, has a most singular effect. The
local names given to these hairy-looking masses are
" Bisnagas " or " Cabeza de Viejo " (old man's head).

MEXICO — TACUBAYA. 9 7

The cypress trees themselves are called "Ahuahuetes."
After wandering about for some time in the " cold
shade " of this forest " aristocracy/' we remounted
our steeds and went to Tacubaya, which formed a
kind of suburb of Mexico, and is a good deal fre-
quented by the residents there when they wish to
change air or scene. There are several pretty vil-
las, with gardens attached, studded about. In one
of these we were very hospitably entertained at
breakfast ; our host was an Englishman, Mr. Greaves,
with a pretty wife and sister-in-law, both much
admired in this country, where the fair and bright
English complexion is as rare as beautiful. Tacubaya
would almost appear to be one vast flower garden ;
the profusion of roses of all hues and sizes is really
astonishing. Among other notable personages who
are ruralising here at present is General Santa Anna,
the actual President of the Mexican Kepublic, conse-
quently, one constantly meets or is overtaken by
aide-de-camps, m'essengers, soldiers, &c., riding in
hot haste to and fro ; some of them, too, looking so
big with importance that they might have been
bearers, at least, of tidings of some new pronuncia-
mento. Before returning home we went to the top
of Mr. G-eaves's house, called the " Azotea," to look
at the surrounding view, which is the same as from
Chapultepec, but with the very important addition of
that fine old castle and its grey-bearded trees, "which

F

98 WANDERINGS IN THE. WESTERN WORLD.

it need scarcely be said are no inconsiderable features
in the general beauty of the landscape.

I find I have forgotten to mention that the day
before yesterday we dined at the Embassy with Mr.
Doyle, and afterwards accompanied him to the opera,
called (till further orders) El Teatro de Santa Anna.
It is a good-sized house, and handsomely though
heavily decorated ; but it is far inferior in every way
to the Tacon at Havana. The performers, on the
other hand, seem better ; the voices excellent ; and
for the most part both men and women seem to be
thorough musicians. It would be difficult to pro-
nounce upon their personal appearance, however, for
the theatre is so badly lighted that one person can
scarcely be distinguished from another.

We rode this morning to the Paseo before break-
fast. Notwithstanding the early hour, all the world
was abroad in carriages or on horseback. The former
are lumbering awkward looking machines, something
like German coaches. Singularly enough, they do
not seem here to have a notion of the pleasure or
convenience of an open carriage; the more inexpli-
cable an omission in a climate so peculiarly adapted
for such an enjoyment. It seemed to me quite a
waste of the bounties of nature, with a warm but not
hot sun shining, a soft and balmy air, to see half a
'dozen people caged up in one of these ponderous
vehicles, one head peeping above another at the nar-

PEPPER TREE. 99

row window. This can scarcely be called taking an
airing. Nothing can be more picturesque, on the
other hand, than the Mexican cavalier's costume,
when adhered to in its true character, and not " im-
proved," or " spoilt " (the terms in this case being
synonymous), by the introduction of English or
Yankee fashions. The dress has been so often de-
scribed and is so familiar to most people, that it
would seem almost a work of supererogation to give
a catalogue raisonnee of its component parts. The
Paseo we visited this morning is called " El Paseo de
Bucarelli," the viceroy of that name having planned
it, and during whose government it was completed.
It bears the same family resemblance to all other
Paseos, Alamedas, and public promenades I have
already mentioned elsewhere. The different species
of trees growing along their sides being the chief
points by which one may distinguish the public
walks of one country or town from another : thus, at
Havana the palm tree is the chosen one ; here it is
the pepper tree, a native of Peru, I believe, originally ;
it takes, nevertheless, kindly to this soil, and though
not possessing the grandeur or majestic bearing of
the palm, is still excessively graceful and beautiful
in its own way. The leaves are of a dark shining
green, and the fruit or pepper berries bright scarlet.
They grow in bunches, not unlike the mountain ash in
size and colour ; but instead of forming one large head

F 2

100 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

of berries like it, the pepper grows like bunches of
grapes, hanging downwards like them, or deciduously
as perhaps you would say.

E. has gone with the Legation to a bull fight ;
but that being an exhibition I have never been able to
make up my mind to witness (unless I could make
sure of seeing some of the men killed who so cruelly
torture the bulls, and, far worse still, their helpless
and courageous horses), I have profited by the oppor-
tunity of enjoying a tranquil hour or two in writing
to you.

Ever yours affectionately,

C.

MALINTZIN — DONA MAKINA. 101

CHAPTER XIX.

Mexico, October 12th. — This morning, my dear
Father, we devoted to the Paseo de las Vigas : went
by one road and returned across the fields by another.
Had a splendid view of the whole valley and the chain
of mountains in all their glory, including the two
volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl ; the Eng-
lish for the latter name is " The White Lady." Some
say it was called after the beautiful Indian mistress
of Cortez, Malintzin, the Malinche hills being the
group of which Iztaccihuatl is the chief. Malintzin
was christened soon after the Spaniards had entered
Mexico, being named Marina, and it was as Dona
Marina she played so important and romantic a part
in the history of the conquest. It is a wondrous love
tale, and far outstrips in its unadorned veracity the
imaginations of most writers of fiction. The affection,
so sudden in its growth, yet so faithful and so true,
through good report and through evil, remained un-
changing to the end, at least to her end, — that is, when
she was married, literally disposed of, — when the news

F 3

102 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

came that the legitimate wife of Cortez was leaving
Spain to join him in the new world. I have often
speculated on what Dona Marina's thoughts and
feelings may have been on this subject. Did she
know of the tie which bound her lover, or was that
tenet of the Christian faith which binds husband
and wife to each other only till death, left un-
taught to her, when she threw her lot with Cortez,
and made his God her Grod ? And then when the
last and worst trial came for both, — when the almost
hated but still lawful wife of Cortez appeared on the
scene, did Marina yield to persuasion, entreaty,
threats, in consenting to marry another, or was it an
expiation? Did she hope to "bear the martyr's
cross, to win the martyr's crown ? " Quien sabe !
But it's a strange tale, and would make a fertile
theme for the romance writer. The name of Dona
Marina's husband was Don Juan de Jamarillo. It is
rarely found, in other cases bearing any resemblance
to this, that the name of the second hero should be
rescued from oblivion ; but this certainly, it must be
owned, was an exceptional circumstance. It is very
provoking, however, that from the time of her
marriage no further record of her life is to be met
with, not even of the period or manner of her death.
Whether she was happy, or miserable, or neither,
but "contented," tradition sayeth not: only the
kindly feeling and grateful recollection with which

PASEO DE LAS VKJAS — LOVE OF FLOWERS. 103

even to this day her name is mentioned as the good
angel both of Spain and Mexico in those stormy
times. To return to our promenade after this flight
of imagination; the Paseo de las Vigas is fre-
quented during part of the year (the spring and
early summer from March till May, I believe) as the
fashionable lounge instead of the Buccarelli ; the
chief attraction there, consisting in the drive, being
along the borders of the canal. While the Mexican
beau monde disport themselves in their carriages, or
on their caracoling horses, the picturesque-looking
Indians with their families are rowing or floating
past on their canoes laden with flowers and fruit.
At all times this must be a pleasing spectacle, and
even now as we witnessed it to-day, though not
"the season," the coup d'ceil was most attractive.
The Indian love for flowers is almost a religion ;
and the way in which they decorate not merely their
persons, but every object they employ in daily life,
with these natural ornaments, throws a halo of
beauty and romance over the commonest things.
In the spring and flowering time, of course, the
brilliancy of the show is enhanced tenfold ; hence
the fashionable season for las Vigas occurs at that
period. I have propounded a theory ! Nothing very
abstruse ; it concerns " only a woman's hair," that
is to say, the way of dressing it ; but it seems to me
that the mode of wearing the hair plaited en cou-

F 4

104 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ronne round the head, which we have adopted of
late, and the Italians many years ago, must have
been of Indian origin. How the Europeans ob-
tained it would be another fertile field of argument,
as difficult perhaps, though less important to de-
termine than the much vexed question, whence
the traces of the symbols of the Christian faith,
which have been found in Mexico to have existed
ages before the existence of America was known ?
. . . . To return to the hair. Every Indian
woman you meet, whatever may be her calling or
occupation, wears her hair in a heavy coil or plait
across the head, and this plait is invariably studded,
either with bright coloured flowers, or (and this is
the more common way) interlaced with what looks
like a crimson cord, but is in reality the long leaf
of an aquatic plant dyed to the colour. Talking of
costume, I took advantage of a short interval of
leisure to-day, to pay a visit to a vendor of wax
figures ; for the manufacture of which the Mexicans
are so famous. You would most likely remember
seeing some beautiful specimens at the Great Ex-
hibition. We have made several purchases, as
presents for home friends, though I greatly fear
they will get broken in the course of the long
journey they will have to take. One of the women
I bought represents a fruit seller, and it is really
wonderful to observe the minuteness with which every

FRUIT AND PULQUE SELLERS. 105

single article in her basket is copied from nature.
The same with her dress ; every stripe, every thread
in the various garments she wears, is to the life.
My man is a pulque seller, with the sort of pipe or
cask containing the delicious beverage on his back.
He wears a magnificent serape, silver earrings,
pointed hat, and the orthodox double pair of un-
mentionables, ornamented down each " limb " with a
row of silver buttons. Adieu, now, hasta luego. I
am getting on pretty well in Spanish.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

F 5

106 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XX.

Mexico, October I&h. — Yesterday, my dear Father,
we had a most busy day, — a regular round of sight-
seeing. First of all, we had a diplomatic riding-
party, Spain, France, and England contributing a
representative. Thus escorted, we set off at the
early hour of seven in the morning on a pilgrimage
to the shrine of Nuestra Senora de Guadeloupe,
about four miles distant. This Virgin is the person
who does everything needful for Mexico and the
Mexicans ; consequently she is held in great esteem,
and many are the offerings dedicated to her. We
went into the church, but did not linger there very
long, as there is not much now in it to attract or
interest strangers. Formerly the altar and railing
were of solid silver; but now that is all changed.
The real ore has been melted down, and in its stead
there is now but a tawdry £m-looking imitation.
The miraculous picture, which, as the legend relates,
was painted in one night by the Mater Dolorosa
herself on the cloak of an Indian who had fallen

MADONNA — EX YOTO — MINT. 107

asleep enshrouded in its folds, we looked at as in
duty bound. This picture, in any time of trouble
or need, is carried about in public from church to
church, by way of reminding the heavenly artist of
the protection she volunteered in former days to
Mexico. The principal object of our expedition,
however, was the view from another chapel on the
top of a steepish hill, also dedicated to the Virgin.
Here we were amply repaid for our early rising;
everything was literally couleur de rose, bathed
in the beautiful early sunlight, the air soft and laden
with perfume. There is here close to the chapel a
most extraordinary structure, erected by a Spaniard
as an ex voto offering to the Lady, of Gruedaloupe for
having delivered him from the perils of shipwreck.
It is made of brick, or something that looks like
brick, and is in the shape and of the size of the
mainsail of a ship, — an original notion, at any rate,
though the effect is not very happy in the execution.
Cantered back to breakfast after this very enjoyable
excursion with good spirits and rather extra good
appetites. Later in the day we visited the Mint,
and saw the whole process of making and coining
the dollars. It was most interesting to me, as it
happened I had never seen anything of the sort
before. The director of the Mint made me a present
of a dollar that I had seen go through its various
transmutations. On leaving this, we went to the

108 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Mineria, or school of mines. It contains a collection
of mineral productions of various kinds, very much
like all other such assemblages, only not quite so
good as most. But the thing to be seen is the
palace which contains them, not the contents them-
selves. It is a wonderfully beautiful edifice — I should
imagine on the model of the Alhambra ; the Moorish
arches and columns, the fountains and general exu-
berance of ornament, is quite what I suppose the
Alhambra to be. The architect of this Mexican
chef d'ceuvre was Tolosa. We next proceeded to the
University, in the court of which there is a very fine
equestrian statue of Charles IV. of Spain. The
statue is of bronze, and is a masterpiece of the same
sculptor ; but a statue, however beautiful, is no such
uncommon thing : the singularity of this is, that the
horse is represented trotting in the peculiar manner
the Spanish call el paso, and we, I believe, call
ambling ; that is, the fore and hind legs of the same
side advancing together. In another part of this
courtyard is preserved that frightful relic of barba-
rism, the sacrificial stone, with the notch cut out in
it for resting the head of the victim while he was
being subjected to tortures which it makes one's
blood curdle to think of. The sacrifice was to pro-
pitiate the gods of the barbarians, who afterwards,
to please themselves, cooked and ate the remains.
I cannot, after reading the accounts' which have

AZTEC CRUELTY — BOTANICAL GARDEN. 109

been transmitted to us of these horrors, either
pity the Indians or wonder at the Spaniards com-
mitting any cruelties upon the savages when they
had the opportunity; for it must be remembered
that on many occasions when the fortune of war
had delivered some of Cortez's people into the
hands of the Aztecs, they were put to death with
all the same accessories of torment as those sacrificed
to the gods, and in the sight and almost hearing of
their comrades. We made an ineffectual attempt to
see the Museum, but some reparations are going on
which will keep it closed for another week or so.
We obtained access, however, to the Botanical Garden
which is attached to it. The state of neglect into
which this has fallen is quite melancholy. I suppose,
because Providence has allowed everything to grow
without any trouble, the people consequently will
not give themselves any. We had a gorgeous
bouquet presented to each of us, including flori-
pundios, white and red, besides many other beautiful-
hued flowers of which I do not know the botanical
names and do not understand the Mexican; but I
remarked nevertheless that all these blossoms, lovely
as they undoubtedly were, were of the most ordinary
description in Mexico, every cottage garden, or
rather what would answer to such with us, containing
them all. I told the gardener I thought he had a
sinecure and employed his time accordingly, at which

110 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

he seemed much affronted. Concluded this busy
day with a dinner at the Spanish Embassy. The
present envoy of Spain to the Mexican Kepublic is
the Marquis de la Eibera. The Captain-General,
who is a very old friend of his, gave me a letter of
introduction, and we have found both him and
Madame de Ribera among the kindest and best of
the many friends we have made among the Spanish
people. The Marquise is truly, and in the best sense
of the word, " a charming woman," uniting the most
endearing qualities in herself. She is a daughter of
the Due de Eivas, thereby possessing some of the
best blood in Spain.

REAL DEL MONTE — ESCORT. Ill

CHAPTER XXI.

Real del Monte, Oct. 1 5th, 11 P.M. —We left Mexico
at six this morning, on our way to the far-famed silver
mines of Real del Monte. We had engaged a dili-
gence to take us the first fifty miles, which chiefly
traverse a plain, and had sent on our horses to meet
us at the village of Haltepec, together with our
escort, twenty-four men (mounted) whom Santa Anna,
acceding to the request Mr. Doyle had made in our
behalf, kindly granted for our protection against the
perils of the route, said to be considerable in these
parts. The officer in command of the escort travelled
with us in the "waggon." Just as we arrived at
Haltepec, a divertissement occurred which thoroughly
disturbed my gravity for the rest of the journey.
For some time I had been very uncomfortable, owing
to the seat of the carriage being so high ; my feet
could not reach the ground, and, after sundry at-
tempts to obtain some resting-place for them, I did
at last touch something under the seat opposite to
me ; and, finding it yield, I gradually, with the aid of

112 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

both feet, drew it under me (apparently it was a
black bag), and for an hour or two enjoyed a consider-
able increase of comfort. When within half a mile
of Haltepec, as I have said, I observed " our Captain "
hunting, fumbling, and peering about in all direc-
tions. At last he approached me, and on stooping
and seeing on what I was reposing my feet, shall I
ever forget the ludicrous horror depicted on his
countenance as he ejaculated " Santa Maria Puris-
sima ! ! " I burst into a violent fit of laughter,
when, to make matters better, he seized my ankles
with both hands, rudely pushed them to one side,
and pointed, for he was past speech, at the black
bundle under me. Poor man ! no wonder he was
terrified ; the bag contained a pair of loaded blunder-
busses, and I had cleverly managed to turn the
muzzles upwards, and pointed to myself. It was a
miracle, certainly, that I escaped ; yet, with it all, the
ridiculous has so far outweighed the dangerous, that
I cannot ever think of it for a moment with becoming
seriousness. We remained about an hour to refresh
ourselves at Haltepec, then mounted our horses, and
set forth a numerous company; but the weather,
which had previously been fine and sunny, suddenly
changed, and we were caught in a terrific storm
of rain, which unfortunately lasted a considerable
time. We must have had a most imposing ap-
pearance as we galloped into the little village of

PACHUCA — STOKM — MB. AULD. 113

Pachuca. About thirty people we were in all, and
the escort, at least, not to speak of ourselves, looked
exceedingly picturesque, — the graceful sombreros, the
flowing serapes, and last, not least, the thorough-
bred-looking horses, nearly all of whom in this
country have Arabian blood. We made a grand
entree into the court-yard of the hacienda, wet and
dripping as we were. Here our staff of soldiers left
us, after receiving our sincere thanks for their safe-
guard ; and I bad adieu to my frightened Captain,
who had not recovered from his attaque de nerfs, I
believe, when he left us. We now proceeded to
ascend the hill leading to Real del Monte. The
road is somewhat barren, the maguey and the prickly
pear being the only vegetation growing near ; but
the distant mountain scenery is wild and beauti-
ful. Before we arrived at our journey's end it be-
came bitterly cold, and the air so rarefied that
breathing was laborious. This, however, is no great
wonder, as Eeal is 10,000 feet above the level of the
sea. We were by no means sorry to arrive at Mr.
Auld's house, where we were most hospitably wel-
comed by him and Mrs. Auld. Mr. Auld is the
director of the mines, and, I believe, a shareholder.
They are worked and managed entirely by an En-
glish company. Indeed, so completely English is
the place considered, that in Mexico, when your
friends hear that you contemplate a trip to Real del

114 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Monte, they are accustomed to observe, "You are
going to England ! " Certainly, several of the pecu-
liarities of our manners and customs were visible
immediately on our arrival, but were none the less
welcome. Perhaps the most agreeable of all, for the
first impression, was the sight of a blazing fire in
Mrs. Auld's drawing-room. At any rate, I never re-
member enjoying one so much even in England. I
hope you will give me due credit for my determina-
tion in sitting up to write to you at this time of
night, for I am very tired and sleepy ; but as I anti-
cipate being still more so to-morrow, as we are, I
hear, to be on horseback all day, I am afraid, were
I to delay my daily chronicle till then, I might for-
get or omit something which, nevertheless, you might
like to know. My next letter will most likely not
be written till we are back again in Mexico, but I
shall jot down a few notes en attendant.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

HORSES KNOCKED UP — REGLA. 115

CHAPTEE XXII.

Mexico, 21 st. — We are once more here again, my
dear Father, having accomplished our English expe-
dition in safety. Altogether the excursion has been
most agreeable. As I told you was my intention, I
took notes of the various incidents as they occurred,
and therefore I will without further apology tran-
scribe them tale quale.

16th. — Found this morning that our poor horses
were completely knocked up, so much so that it is
doubtful if they will be fit for work again for many
weeks to come, even if they are then. This is most
vexatious, as, should they prove unfit for service as
long as this, I shall have paid * 601. for this excursion
alone, as the horses, with their saddles and accoutre-
ments included, cost me this sum. Mr. Auld, how-
ever, provided us with steeds from his stable to-day,
and we rode to Eegla, once the residence of the
Counts of Eegla, the owners of all these rich mines.
The only house now on the estate is a hacienda
(equivalent in English to a farmhouse), where, on

116 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

receiving the silver out of the mines, they work and
separate it from the earth in which it is hidden, and
by a series of processes which, although I saw, I
should fear making a mistake were I to attempt to
describe minutely, they finally form it into bars, in
which state it is forwarded to Mexico, either for
coining there or for exportation to other countries
as specie. The natural beauties of Eegla are great ;
indeed, during the whole of our ride the scenery was
charming. The hacienda is imbedded in a hole, to
use a common but very expressive word ; this same
hole being walled by two gigantic chains of rocks
called by the learned basaltic columns. The name
given them here is the " Giant's Causeway." They
are most curious-looking — resemble the barrels of an
organ, and seem much more as if they were made by
art than nature. The house is now inhabited by the
superintendent of the company, a Mr. Bell, and his
wife, from the north of England.

18th. — Rose at four in the morning, and were in our
saddles at half-past five en route to visit a famous
barranca and see from it the sun rise over the
surrounding mountains. These barrancas are like
what in the Alps are called mountain torrents, only
that in this country they are much more formidable
and much larger; they seem to split the hills asunder
in their headlong course. From the spot whence we
gazed on the magnificent view unrolling itself beneath

BARRANCA — SAN MIGUEL — LAS PENAS CARGADAS. 117

and around us, we could discern in the distance many
of these wild and terrible-looking chasms. They are
now dried up, but in the rainy season, the fury of the
waters dashing down these rocky channels, and carry-
ing everything away with their irresistible strength,
it is neither safe nor even possible sometimes to
approach them. We returned to Eegla to breakfast,
and afterwards took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Bell, and
retraced our steps home, i. e. to Eeal del Monte.
Mr. Auld took us on our way to visit a hacienda,
called San Miguel, also belonging to the Count de
Regla, a most beautiful spot imbedded in trees, with
a fresh clear lake in the midst of them. The whole
scene had an English park-like appearance, the won-
derful flowers only excepted, with which we cannot
vie. At the hacienda itself they are employed, as
most of the other occupants in these parts, in working
the silver after it is taken from the mines, adding
the quicksilver, &c., and making in a fit state for
transport.

19th. — Took another ride on horseback through
scenery even more magnificent, if possible, than that
of the barranca. We had to descend a very rugged
and slippery path, and when we reached the bottom
we were nearly swamped in bogs with which the ground
is covered in some parts. But we enjoyed a near
view of some grand old rocks, which form the greatest
attraction of the landscape, and which are named
" Las penas cargadas." Dangerous though the road

118 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

was, I think we were well repaid for our perseverance.
We saw the two snow-capped volcanoes shining in all
their beauty. I had no idea before of the height of
these two mountains, and am not a little surprised to
find they both overtop Mont Blanc by nearly 2000
feet. The excessive clearness of the atmosphere ren-
ders it easy to deceive the eye. Popocatapetl and
Iztaccihuatl both, but especially the former, look as
if there would be no difficulty whatever in riding up
to the top in a couple of hours ; yet the base of the
nearer of the two is forty miles off !

20th. — Went into one of the silver mines called
the Kosario. This is cut through the side of the hill,
and consequently we were able to explore it without
the inconvenience of being swung down in baskets
or having to climb up rope ladders. We were sent
in, or rather drawn in, by a mule in a sort of truck
or wheelbarrow, in which we lay down as nearly flat
as we could, with candles in our hands, and were so
trundled on for about a quarter of a mile. We
were enveloped from head to foot in white flannel
drawers and gowns, and I should think we must
have looked very like a party of criminals being drawn
to execution. The Eosario is now the richest of the
Real del Monte mines — at least so I am told. The
miners seem by no means uncomfortable, and lead a
merry life, hammering away at the silvery rock, and
singing all manner of songs, comic and sentimental.
They gave us some of their pulque to drink, which

COLD JOURNEY — MAGUEYS — PULQUE. 119

this time we did not think so bad. We also obtained
leave, with the aid of a chisel and hammer, to hew
for ourselves some specimens of the ore.

2lst. — Took leave of our hosts at Keal del Monte
with much regret. We have made a delightful
excursion and a most agreeable visit, to which the
only drawback has been its brief duration. We were
obliged to leave Mr. Auld's house at half-past four
o'clock this morning, in order to be in time for a
diligence which was to pass though Pachuca at six.
The air was freezing : I don't think I ever suffered
such bitter cold before. This time from Pachuca
we availed ourselves of the " silver escort," as some
bars were being sent on to Mexico, which we therefore
accompanied. Our journey was accomplished with-
out any remarkable incident, and we reached the
city in safety this evening. The weather being fine
to-day, I was able to observe what previously had
escaped me in the hurried gallop across the plain in
the storm — namely, the numbers of large aloes or
magueys, as their Mexican name is, scattered in pro-
fusion all over the country. Some few were in
flower, but they are rare, as immediately the owner
finds his maguey is about to blossom, he cuts its
head off for the sake of the pulque which is then in
the long stem ready to nourish the flower, but which
more generally he prefers should nourish him.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

120 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

Mexico, October 24th. — The last two mornings, my
dear Father, have been almost exclusively devoted to
visiting the public buildings, churches, &c. On
Sunday we went to the College of the Biscayunos, a
most excellent institution, and which I should have
much regretted leaving Mexico without seeing. The
college is a spacious, airy, and handsome edifice,
modelled, I understand, after the royal palace at
Madrid. The founders were three rich old Biscayans
who bethought them of using their large fortune in
this charitable manner. The college is for the bene-
fit of girls. They are chosen by directors or trustees
named for the purpose, and the preference is given
in election to those of Biscayan birth or descent.
When once elected the girls are taken into the
college, a magnificent and extensive building, where
they receive a good and careful education. When
grown up they have the choice of three things,
namely, to marry, to go into a convent, or to stay
where they are as teachers. When they choose

BISCAYAN COLLEGE.— GOOD SYSTEM. — CATHEDRAL. 121

either of the first two vocations, they are dowried
with four thousand piastres. The internal organisa-
tion of the establishment is curious. They are divided
into little governments or republics consisting of
ten members in each. These ten possess a kitchen,
a salon, and a dormitory between them. They do
everything for themselves, each girl in rotation
taking her turn daily at the different employments.
One of this " council of ten " is appointed president
or governor for a month, when she goes out of office
and is succeeded by another, and so on. The system,
I understand, works admirably in every respect. On
leaving here we proceeded to the Cathedral, which,
though I had cursorily visited already, I wished to
go over again. D'abord, we had to take off our
bonnets and leave them in the carriage, as women
are not allowed to enter the Mexican churches in
either bonnets or hats ; so we substituted scarfs en-
veloping both head and shoulders, mantilla fashion,
and so entered. The interior does not, at least now,
correspond with the grandeur of its external appear-
ance ; but, like many other things, it is sadly shorn of
its ancient glories. There is still a great deal of
silver about it, and the pillars near the high altar are
curiously enriched with many-coloured marbles ; but
the aisles and body of the church are all but stripped,
and bear visible marks of popular and profane touch.
The church is of Gothic architecture, finely shaped,

122 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

and of immense size. Two stately towers flank the
fapade at either side. Were there, however, nothing
attractive either in sculpture or ornament, the Cathe-
dral of Mexico must always possess an undying
interest for the antiquary, and indeed, I should think,
for all readers of history. On the spot now hallowed
by the Christian church, stood once the temple
dedicated to the gods of the most revolting and
cruel faith that ever stained the annals of a people
since the creation of the world, — the Aztec war-
deity, to whom this temple was especially devoted,
and in whose honour whole hecatombs of miserable
human victims were yearly sacrificed. The present
pavement of the Cathedral is entirely formed of the
numerous statues and busts of their various pagan
deities, notwithstanding which there are lots still
to be seen at the Museum and elsewhere. As
we left the building our attention was directed
to the famous Calendar stone, called in Mexican slang
"el relox de Montezuma" (Montezuma's watch).
In the days of the Aztec emperors it stood in the
centre of the Grand Plaza, but has since been trans-
ferred to the enclosure by the Cathedral. It is of
circular form, and of great size and weight — upwards
of fifty tons, I am told — and is inscribed with all
manner of signs and hieroglyphics, by which means
they formed a tolerably accurate computation of the
lapse of time, seasons, &c. Strange that such civi-

CHURCHES. — STS. FRANCIS AND CLARA. — CHINAMPAS. 123

lisation as this should have existed at the same pe-
riod with the frightful barbarities before mentioned !
Being now in proper costume for church visiting, we
took the opportunity of going to two others — namely,
San Francisco and Santa Clara. The former is one
of the most beautifully ornamented in the whole
city. Fine sculptures in variegated marble are to be
observed all around, while the altar glitters with
jewels and gold. Santa Clara is less splendid, but in
purer and better taste ; white marble columns re-
lieved with gleams of gold in the bas-reliefs. We
now drove a few miles out of Mexico to see those
curious relics of bygone days — or at least what re-
mains of them — the chinampas, or floating islands.
The latter term is certainly now a misnomer. They
have all but completely attached themselves to the
continent or parent soil. In two or three instances
only a kind of rivulet or stream surrounds them, and
allows one to imagine what they i>:ight once have
been — flowery sort of rafts skimming along the quiet
surface of the lakes. I should suppose that the
interwoven aquatic plants which originally formed
the foundation of these chinampas must have thrown
out offshoots and branches which, in process of time,
encountered others from the mainland, and so knit
themselves together that in most cases the residents
on the soil even cannot tell where the mainland ends
and where the islands begin. The present appear-

G 2

124 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ance of those we saw resembled patches of good pro-
ductive kitchen garden, but lacked the wilderness of
flowers. The Museum being now reopened, we went
there for a couple of hours yesterday morning.
There is such a strong family likeness in all museums,,
that it would only be tedious to enumerate any por-
tion of the contents of this. Suffice it to say, there-
fore, that here are the usual statues, busts, torsos, &c.,
(f supposed to be " of everybody ; bits of gold, silver,
copper, iron, lead, and all the known metals ; spitted
scorpions, centipedes and spiders, pickled snakes and
stuffed monkeys ; also a series of portraits of the
Viceroys down to the days of the Republic. One
natural curiosity there is worth all the other objects,
in my opinion. This is (( el arbol de las manitas," —
Anglice, the tree of the little hands, — a most extra-
ordinary plant. The flower is red, and in shape
something like an anemone ; but from it there pro-
trudes a singularly correct and well-formed hand,
the only difference between it and the human mem-
ber being that this possesses five fingers besides a
very perfect thumb. There are now, I am told, but
two specimens of this plant remaining in Mexico or
in the world, so that it is no matter of wonder to
find it honoured by a place in the Museum. Hence
we proceeded to the church attached to a charitable
institution called the Hospital de Jesus. Here was
the last resting-place of Cortez, if indeed the term

JESUS OF NAZARETH. — CORTEZ. — LONJA BALL. 125

rest can be applied to aught which has undergone so
many changes. After being transported from Seville,
where he died, here to the land he won, his remains
were successively interred in three different places ;
at Tezcuco, at the church of San Francisco in
Mexico, and lastly at this place, " Jesus of Nazareth."
To the disgrace of the Mexican mob, on the occasion
of the popular outbreak in 1823, they broke into the
church with the intention of desecrating the tomb
and destroying the remains of the hero, but for
whose life and deeds of bravery and perseverance
these wretched miscreants could not have called the
" Queen of the Valley " their own native land. For-
tunately for the Mexican reputation, timely warning
was conveyed to one of the nobles of the despicable
project of the rabble, and the ashes of Cortez were
once more disinterred and conveyed to a place of
safety. But where that is, no one knows but the
chief actor in the scene and his family. The secret •
is very prudently still preserved, as the general good
order and tranquillity are by no means improving
with regard to Mexico or the Mexicans. In the even-
ing we attended a great ball given in the Lonja or
Exchange Eoom, a very brilliant affair. Diamonds
were worn to an amount I should have thought in-
credible. I was chiefly glad of this ball taking place
while we were in Mexico, by its affording me an
opportunity of seeing and having time to examine

03

326 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WOELD.

the President Santa Anna, who, with his young wife,
" assisted " at the fete. They were both seated on
chairs of state raised on a velvet-covered platform,
and were surrounded by the staff, ministers, corps
diplomatique, officers, &c. He is a sallow-com-
plexioned, careworn-looking man, and no wonder. I
should think his life anything but an easy or an
enviable one. He gives me the impression of being
a man of strong determination, not easy temper, and
whose will it might be dangerous to thwart. Ma-
dame Santa Anna is young and pretty — reported
beautiful, but this I think an exaggeration ; at least
she disappointed me. Her complexion is pale, eyes
and hair dark, features tolerable ; but this sort of
face is no uncommon one. She is of low birth, but
has had the virtue to accept Santa Anna's addresses
only on the condition of becoming his wife. She
pays the usual penalty, however, for marrying a man
more than double her age, in becoming the object
of his ever watchful jealousy and suspicion. The
dancing continued till nearly five o'clock in the
morning, principally the " Spanish dances " so called,
a kind of slow floating movement to a sort of Sir
Eoger de Coverley figure. Waltzes and polkas were
occasionally interspersed ; but the truth is, no lungs
can stand quick motion through the air here, whe-
ther in running or dancing or any positive self-

RAREFIED AIR. — WALTZING.— SPANISH DANCES. 127

exertion of body : the atmosphere being so rarefied,
one turn of a waltz sets every one panting as if they
had got the asthma. So the Spanish dances are likely
to maintain their supremacy on a stronger ground
than the caprice of changeable fashion.

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128 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXIV.

BEING very tired, after last night's dissipation, we con-
tented ourselves, this afternoon, with a ride on horse-
back a few miles out of town, where we were quiet-
spectators of a very . curious scene, viz. a sale of
horses, which had to be caught for inspection when
chosen. I was much amused and interested with the
whole ceremony, some of the incidents of which were
most laughable. • It would be scarcely possible for
an uninitiated person, or one who had not been an
eye-witness of the performance, to understand from
a description, however minute, the extraordinary
skill of the Mexicans in throwing the lasso. I think,
perhaps the most incomprehensible part is the ap-
parent slowness and composure with which it gradu-
ally uncoils on its route. A good aim, quickly and
suddenly taken, whether with a stone, a ball, or any-
thing else, is simple enough ; but the lasso, to all ap-
pearance*, aims at nothing. I repeatedly saw — that
is, I fancied I saw — the treacherous cord unrolling
itself at about the same pace as the horse was going.

CATCHING HORSES.— LASSO. — UNIVERSAL PRACTICE. 129

keeping, as it were, alongside of him until the
moment decreed by fate had arrived. Then it de-
pended much on the character of the horse what
happened afterwards. If he was of a philosophical,
easy-going turn, his pace gradually slackened, and,
without any violence, he was brought up for exami-
nation. If, on the other hand, and as most fre-
quently happened, he resisted the indignity of being
in any way shackled, he speedily measured his length
on the ground; yet so quietly and gently withal, that
his uppermost feeling, I imagine, must be astonish-
ment even more than rage. It is certainly an ex-
emplification of the old saw that "practice makes
perfect." The men here practise it perpetually.
The lasso is an indispensable accessory to every
saddle, and they experimentalise on -everything. No-
thing comes amiss. Children, too, from their infancy,
will make a slip-knot with any bit of string they can
get hold of, and set to lassoing their chickens, ducks,
kittens, puppies, toys, or whatever may come in their
way. From this peculiarity, as may be supposed, the
existence of domestic animals does not flow on so
easily as it might do. I have often, from my balcony
here, watched and laughed at the distress of some
maternal hen, and the clucking indignation of pater-
familias at the sudden bereavement of one* of their
progeny by the whipcord of some mischievous urchin.
The trial, to be sure, is of short duration but must
o 5

130 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

be very unpleasant to the parties concerned for the
time being. I have also profited by this compara-
tively idle day, by doing a little Mexican shopping ;
that is to say, I intended to do so, but unfortunately
I find, on examination, that the prices of the articles
I particularly desired were quite beyond my portee.
The principal object of my ambition, in the way of
personal decoration, was a genuine Spanish mantilla
made of blonde, either black or white, such as I see
les grandes dames of Mexico are in the habit of
wearing ; but on selecting one which pleased me, and
inquiring its price, I heard, to my consternation, that
it amounted to 200 dollars, i. e. upwards of 40L So,
as anything like that sum was out of the question,
I ceased to think any more about it. I have, how-
ever, succeeded in obtaining two very handsome
specimens of the Mexican " serape," which I shall
send to you the first opportunity, or, if none presents
itself, I shall keep and bring home with me. They
are, at all events, uncommon, and not to be seen
every day. The only thing against them is, that
though they will make capital railway wraps, and
effectually preserve you from both dust and cold,
they are so singular in form, and the colours so many
and so brilliant, that I almost fear you might render
yourself liable to be taken up, or mistaken for the
Pope or the Sultan, or some equally mischievous
person. I have also bought two or three silver

SILVER BROOCHES. — EMBLEM OF MEXICO. — VALENTINES. 131

brooches, principally used by the Mexicans to fasten
their sombreros, or rather the feathers or ribands
they may wear in them. These brooches are specially
interesting as bearing for their design the national
emblem, namely, an eagle flying, wings extended,
and carrying in his claws a large branch of the nopal or
prickly pear. These, together with a Mexican riding
whip and some valentines (oddly enough, they have
the custom, though not the day, here ; and whereas
we make ours the 14th of February, they make
theirs on the day we devote to geese, the 29th of Sep-
tember), are, I think, all the extravagances of which
I have been guilty. This letter, I see, has extended
itself to a most unconscionable length ; therefore, as I
do not wish to ruin you in postage, I shall now con-
clude, and remain

Your ever affectionate

C.

G 6

132 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XXV.

Mexico, Oct. 26th. — My dear Father, — This will, I fear
be the last or nearly the last letter you will receive
from me dated Mexico, for the time of our departure
is now drawing very near. The actual day is not yet
fixed, as it will greatly depend upon circumstances,
about which I will tell you when all is finally ar-
ranged and I know myself what our movements will
be. Yesterday we went to Tacuba, the ancient
Tlacopan, and the spot to which Cortez retreated
after the first great reverse that befel the Spanish
arms after the conquest. We followed step by step
the same path taken by the routed troops on that
" noche triste," or sad night, and lingered for a few
minutes at the scene of the famous leap of Alvarado,
who, finding himself cut off from all hope of retreat,
alone against countless enemies, took the desperate
measure of planting his lance firmly in the bottom
of the stream, and by its aid swung himself across a
prodigious distance out of reach of his assailants.
There is at Tacuba now a small field with some old

NOCHE TKISTE. — ROSES. — TEA AND CHOCOLATE. 133

trees and flowering rose-bushes. Under one of the
former, called by his name, Cortez is said to have
passed the dark hours of that dreary night. I
gathered a bunch of the roses to keep as a souvenir
of the spot for my own satisfaction ; but for a narra-
tion of this most extraordinary and romantic * episode
in the history of those days, it would be the height
of presumption in any one to attempt it after the
account given in the incomparably eloquent pages of
Prescott. Spent the evening with the same friends
whom we visited at Tacuba some weeks ago, and
who have now come into Mexico for the winter.
Had tea a V Anglaise, and what was far better, at
least for a change, chocolate a la Mexicaine. It
would be impossible to imagine anything more
delicious in its way than chocolate as they prepare
it in this country. Without of course instancing
England, where by asking you get a cup of what
is libellously called chocolate and in taste approxi-
mates to toast and water mixed with sky-blue milk
and sweetened with syrup, I will compare the chocolate
here with what is given you in France, where they
flatter themselves they understand the beverage ; yet
I have no hesitation in saying that even the French
know nothing about the matter. In the more
absorbing attraction of other incidents of our journey
between Vera Cruz and this city, I find I have
been ungrateful enough to omit any mention of the

134 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

sustenance afforded us by the chocolate, always
found in perfection and in plenty at the poorest and
humblest huts on the road. I remember particularly,
on the occasion I have already mentioned, when, in
the middle of a cold, rainy, stormy night, our dili-
gence stuck fast in some of the deep ruts abounding
in the way, we entered what appeared to be. nothing
better than a hovel of the most miserable description.
The inside did not either at all belie the promise of
the out. In one room, or rather portion of space,
unpartitioned, were sleeping a man and woman, two
children, two goats, a pig, a parrot, a cat, a lot of
poultry roosting in the oddest places, and dogs ad
libitum; besides dried fruit, vegetables, meat, &c.,
hanging from the rafters on the roof. It might be
naturally supposed that in a place of this description
one would find nothing superexcellent in the way of
cuisine; and yet, within ten minutes of our un-
looked-for entree in their cabin, these hospitable
Indians produced a potful of hot chocolate, the like
of which I would challenge all Paris to equal. To
return to our friend's soiree after this digression : we
occupied our evening in playing vingt-et-un, which, by
the way, is the general nightly amusement here, and
much more resorted to than dancing — I suppose for
the reasons I mentioned in describing the Lonja ball.
This morning, Eleanor not being actively inclined, I
rode with Mr. Berkeley to San Augustin, a village

GAMBLING. — SAN AUGUSTIN. — COCK FIGHTING. 135

some eight miles from here, which is actually devoted
to no other purpose than that of gambling. Curious
country and still more curious government, where
the existence of such a state of things as an institu-
tion is permitted ! The gambling fetes for this year
are over now (they take place in June) ; but though
for the present deserted, my cicerone pointed out to
me the various houses where so many fortunes change
hands, besides describing to me the details of what
takes place, he having been a visitor annually for
some time past. The principal and favourite game
is " Monte," which, as far as I can make out, differs
very little if at all from Lansquenet ; but the merry-
making once begun, both sexes, all ranks, the young
and the old, the rich and the poor, crowd to San
Augustin, and play with, against, and beside each
other. I am sorry to add that the affections of this
heterogeneous multitude are equally divided, or
nearly so, between Monte and a far more inhuman
amusement, namely, cock-fighting ; the slaughter of
these poor innocents at the annual fetes amounts to
something enormous, the fashion of fastening sharp
knives to their spurs preventing any chance of pre-
serving their lives, with very few exceptions. An
absurd story is told, and I believe well authenticated,
of the President Santa Anna, whose excessive love for
cock-fighting once led him into most irreverent and
uncourteous behaviour to a Mexican bishop. The

136 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

latter had gone to call on Santa Anna by appoint-
ment, but the conversation had scarcely begun when
the President started up and left the room. The
reverend padre waited for some time patiently, then
wonderingly. At length he rang the bell, and, in
answer to his inquiries, was told that Santa Anna
" had gone to visit a sick friend." " Who ? " "Silver-
tail." "Who is Silvertail?" "His excellency's
favourite gamecock, who was wounded in a fight this
morning ! "

LAST DAY IN MEXICO. — EL DESIERTO. 13;

CHAPTEE XXVI.

October 28th. — This is our very last day in Mexico,
my dear Father. I therefore yield to the temptation
of dating yet one more letter from it, though pro-
bably my despatch will not be closed till we are some
way on the return route. We shall reach Vera Cruz
some days before the steamer, but by taking our
departure now, although it is a little premature, we
shall have the double advantage of an escort the
whole way, and also we shall enjoy the company of
our friends the Eiberas. Madame de Eibera is going
to Europe with her child, and Monsieur accompanies
her as far as Vera Cruz, where a Spanish man-of-war
awaits her embarkation. The whole of this afternoon
has been occupied in preparations for our journey and
in receiving numerous farewell visits. "We have found
many good friends here from whom we shall separate

with great regret Yesterday morning

at a very early hour we left Mexico on an expedition
to a place called " El Desierto," anglice, the desert.
Why so called it would be difficult to determine, for

138 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

nothing could very well be more unlike our general
notions of a desert. It is about fourteen miles from
Mexico. For the first time I thought the view
to-day, as we gradually approached our destination,
fully equalled the description of the valley given by
so many chroniclers, from Cortez to Humboldt.
Hills, valleys, lakes, and mountains outvied each
other, shining under a purple sky, and almost real-
ised the dreams of the olden time. We left our
carriage at the village of Toluca, and shortly after
commenced the ascent of a steep hill leading to the
" desierto." It was formerly a monastery, but is
now used as a glass manufactory. Every step we
took disclosed views, the one only more exquisitely
beautiful than the other. Much as I have seen to
admire and to enchant in this wonderful country, this
day's excursion has surpassed all. It was decreed by
the fates that we should not return without an ad-
venture ; for we had no sooner begun to wend our
way down the little path leading back to Toluca, than
the most violent storm of tropical rain that can be
imagined burst over our heads. It really, as they say
in Yorkshire, " came heaven down." We were wet
through in two minutes ; but this was not the worst
part of the business. The ground, which had pre-
viously been parched and burnt from a long con-
tinuance of dry weather now became so slippery with
the rain, which had glazed more than soaked the

PUEBLA.— OUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONS. 139

soil, that it was quite impossible to keep one's foot-
ing at all ; and so slipping, sliding, stumbling and
falling, we pursued our downward course. However,
" all's well that ends well ;" we did arrive at last, drove
home, and happily accomplished our expedition
without even catching cold. This morning we took
our last ride on horseback; went to see the tree
hallowed by the " noche triste." .

Puebla, Oct. 29th. — I resume my letter. We reached
here about an hour ago. We had to get up at a
dreadful hour this morning, starting at four o'clock ;
cold and miserable, and so we bid a sad farewell to
Mexico. Our companions are Monsieur and Ma-
dame de Eibera, their little boy, and a wonderful
old woman, upwards of seventy, who is returning to
Spain after having passed her whole life from the
age of sixteen in Mexico. Some one of her relations-
has died and left her a fortune in her old age. So
she is now about to go and end her days in her
own country. Not a wise plan, I think, as she is far
too aged to find old or make new friends now in old
Spain, whereas she leaves the ties and associations of
half a century behind her. Madame de Eibera was
nursing with tender care two extraordinary little dogs
of the Chihuahua* breed. They are at present only

* Pronounced Chi-wa-wa.

140 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

in their early puppy-hood, and are of the size of very
small kittens ; but their full growth scarcely attains
that of a common domestic cat. Most marvellous
tales are told concerning the manners and customs of
this race of canines, for the truth of which of course
I cannot vouch, knowing nothing of the matter. They
say these dogs are met with in and surrounding the
Chihuahua part of Mexico ; that their organisation
is a sort of " United States " in miniature, only that,
with the quadrupedal republic, they have the advan-
tage of a " president " to each state, and that president
is — a rattle snake ! They are said, nevertheless, to
live in a state of exemplary order and felicity, a kind
of Utopian mixture of free trade and protection, the
former consisting of a course of (s trading " carried on
by the dogs in a manner more free than welcome, and
the latter, as may be guessed, afforded by the snakes
on principles which Mr. Cobden himself I imagine
would accede to. Unlike political parties, however,
there exists honour among thieves here. The dogs
forage for the snakes, as well as themselves, and the
snakes in their turn defend the dogs from all ad-
versaries, and do not, according to the manner of
" liberals " and " conservatives," desert their friends.
Madame de Eibera's little charges are amusing and
affectionate little things, not old enough yet to have
felt any filial affection for their formidable parent.
I nursed one all the way, it having ensconced itself

BEAUTIFUL SPANISH LANGUAGE. — " HOMBRE i" 141

very comfortably in my neck, between my bonnet and
cloak. Among other methods of whiling away the
long hours of our journey, I derive great amusement,
besides instruction, in the Spanish language by listen-
ing to the prattle of the young Ribera, a fine merry
child of about seven years old. True Castilian is un-
deniably the queen or empress of languages, and from
the lips of a child sounds peculiarly beautiful. Soft,
without the namby pamby drawl of Italian, grand,
without the harshness of German, and brilliant, with-
out the sharpness of French. One expression parti-
cularly amuses me in this little fellow: when he
differs in opinion with his father, or means to remon-
strate with him, he exclaims, in such a dignified
manner, " Hombre ! " It is a very common Spanish
expression, and means a great deal, though its
literal translation is merely " man ! " which sounds
odd enough from a child to his father ; but it is equi-
valent to a long English sentence : for instance, " But,
my dear Sir, I assure you, you're quite wrong ; only
reflect for a moment," &c., would all be expressed by
the Spanish " Hombre ! "

142 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXVII.

PUEBLA.

WE have passed over the same ground as in coming,
only that we reached here earlier in the day, and
consequently have had an opportunity of judging a
little more of the town, which is remarkably hand-
some, and of visiting the cathedral. This is a most
beautiful edifice, far superior in all respects, I think
(size excepted), to that of Mexico. The church was
so quickly built that tradition says the workmen
were helped by angels, who came by night and
advanced their work. Hence the name by which
Puebla is distinguished, namely, " Puebla de los
Angeles." ... A few hours after penning the
above lines, we again set out on our journey, another
night and part of a day bringing us to Perote, which
looked much less dismal than on our first visit. We
had the loveliest view ever since daybreak of the
two Mexican volcanoes, and towards the close, in- the
glorious light of the setting sun, Orizava burst upon
our sight. Next morning, in due course of time, we
reached beautiful Jalapa again. The scenery, trees,

JALAP A. — GUITAR. — AGE OF CHIVALRY. 143

and flowers seem to me even more wonderful, if pos-
sible, than on my first visit. Nothing I have ever
seen, heard, or read of has equalled this in colour-
ing. It is quite indescribable, and would only seem
to be exaggeration were I to attempt to render the
impression the whole scene leaves on the mind and
memory.

We remained the whole day at Jalapa, reserving
the uninteresting Tierra Caliente between it and
Vera Cruz for traversing at night. Having refreshed
ourselves with an excellent dejeuner a la fourchette,
we took a long walk with our friends into the
country, and returned laden with floripundias and
roses. On our way back we entered some of the
cottages scattered around. In one of these we unex-
pectedly came upon a most interesting group. A
picturesque-looking young Mexican playing the guitar
and singing to his lady- love ; she, the while occupied
in twining bright flowers in her hair! I thought
those days of romance had gone by; and so they have
in the mother country, since " Cervantes laughed
Spain's chivalry away ; " but here they are less
civilised ! Another night ended our land journey
without any accident, and brought us to Vera Cruz,
whence I am at this moment writing (Nov. 6th),
having arrived here three days ago. We have had
a most unexpectedly pleasant sojourn at Vera Cruz.
It certainly exemplifies the truth of the proverb

U4 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

about giving a dog a bad name. This much maligned
town has the reputation of being dull, dismal, and
disagreeable in every respect, and we anticipated
spending our three or four days of detention about
as profitably as if we had been in quarantine ;
whereas, thanks partly to Mr. GKffard (the consul),
who has introduced us to some friends of his residing
here, we have had riding horses placed at our dis-
position by different people each day, and have
enjoyed ourselves exceedingly. As soon as the town
and the immediately surrounding sands of Vera Cruz
are passed, you enter into the most charming country
scenery in the world. We cantered about for miles
over green turf, and through green lanes and leafy
glades worthy of England itself. Indeed I was quite
forcibly reminded of Wonersh, only that, besides all
the beautiful green verdure to be seen there, flowers
grow here such as England dreams not of. An odd
adventure, which might have proved a catastrophe,
occurred to us yesterday. An old Mexican gentle-
man, Senor Gr , had begged to be chosen purveyor

of our steeds for the day, and accordingly at 3 o'clock
two magnificent looking horses were at our door.
They did not seem pleased at our mounting, but that
we thought nothing of, and all went well till we were
outside the town gates, on the sand-hills immediately
surrounding them. Here our horses began to per-
form. Eleanor's bolted at once, and she threw herself

ADVENTURE — ENGLISH AMAZONS. 145

off, very fortunately clearing the saddle, and as she
fell on soft sand was not hurt. My steed mean-
while began to plunge in the most frightful manner
I ever saw ; but I was afraid to throw myself off, so
on him I sat, till, suddenly, the saddle turned round
and I fell. By great good luck the horse made a
great bound off without touching me, so I was quitte
pour la peur ; and after all we managed to get our
ride not on these bucephali, but on a couple of steady
" sage " ponies lent us by some one else. But the
cream of the incident was this. The old gentleman
on being questioned on the subject, very coolly said,
" No one had ever mounted these horses before, but
that he had always understood it to be a matter of
indifference to English women what ( wild beasts '
they rode ! " I must now bring my last Mexican
letter to a close, though we shall travel to Havana
together ; but as the vessel will only remain there a
few hours, I probably should not have time to write
on arriving there. So adieu,

Your ever affectionate
C.

146 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XXVIII.

Havana, November llth. — My dear Father, — We
embarked on the same evening on which I closed my
letter at Vera Cruz. A furious " norte " blowing, I
thought we should have been swamped several times
before reaching the steamer. The waves dashed all
over us, and we were completely drenched when we
at length arrived. The gale became worse as the
day wore on, and at last the shore boats asked a
hundred dollars for bringing or taking any one from
the land to the vessel or vice versa. These " nortes"
or northerly gales are the terrors of the Mexican
Gulf. They come on generally without any warning,
and like the Provenpal mistral, they last either three
or nine days, and cause for the most part great
damage, besides doubly adding to the dangers of the
Alacranes. Unfortunately our gale was one of the
nine days' duration, consequently we have had a long
and most disagreeable passage — rough sea, bad ship,
and worse accommodation. The Avon is the name
of the packet and as far as I have yet seen it is

EECEPTION — OLD SPANISH NAMES. 147

the only really bad and uncomfortable one in the
West India service. You may imagine under these
circumstances what a relief it was, to make Havana at
last, to see the dear old " ace of clubs " again (i. e. the
harbour of Havana which is shaped exactly like one),
and to meet our good Spanish friends once more.

1 5th. — Yesterday evening we dined at the Quin-
ton with the captain-general, and met a large
party of hidalgos and official grandees, with their
senoras and senoritas ; that is, in more humble words
than the grandiloquent Spanish, their wives and
daughters. I suppose it is in consequence of so little
being heard or known in general society, now-a-days,
of Spain or the Spaniards, so few names now rise
to the surface so as to be saved from the waters of
oblivion ; and even these few are rarely known to any
but the small party constituting the creme de la
creme of different nations; that on hearing men-
tioned in presentation to me, those of Villa Hermosa,
Pinalves, Fernandina, Velasquez, Alva, Alvarez, Xime-
nes, &c., I was for a short time almost bewildered,
wondering whether I had gone back to school days
and was brushing up my history, or whether I had
fallen into a reverie over the chronicles of the Cid or
Don Quixote. It was all real, however, and a most
agreeable and sociable party; but so I find all
General Canedo's are. His receptions are on the plan
of most royal levees and similar ceremonies; yet,

H 2

148 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

strange to say, here in Cuba the regal or vice-regal
audiences are far less serious affairs than a private
" morning call." With the captain-general, when you
have properly gone through the ceremony of making
your reverence to the representative of Queen Isabel,
you may do whatever you please, walk about, change
your place, in short, amuse yourself as fancy leads you.
But with the Cuban nobility and gentlefolks it is
quite another affair. I remember receiving a very
strong impression on this subject from one of the
first visits I paid in Havana, namely, to the Count and
Countess O'Reilly, to whom Isturiz had "addressed
me." I was shown into a large barren-looking room
(but from the windows of which there was a most
heavenly view), the only furniture which was visible
— and that most alarmingly so — being a dozen
rocking chairs ranged in two rows opposite each
other. La Senora Condesa received me, seated in
one of these machines, and placed me next her. By
and by, in walked some junior members (males) of
the family; they planted themselves just opposite, and
we all began to talk; but it was in vain to try
and turn the conversation to some less engrossing
subject than how or where we had all spent our
morning. I think I must have got what the French
call an attaque de nerfs. At last I remarked on the
beauty of the view, the flowers, everything I could
see ; and of course hoped a walk on the terrace would

MOKNING CALLS — KOCKING-CHAIES. 149

be proposed. But nothing of the sort ; each male
who came in seating himself on one side and each
female on the other, till we must all have looked
like a pack of ghosts, bowing to each other.
To be sure, it was consolatory to be told everything
they possessed was mine, and entirely at my disposi-
tion ; yet I would willingly have sacrificed all these
possessions " en Espagne " for the present power of
pushing away my rocking chair and going wherever
the spirit impelled me. Having now been here some
time, and having had opportunities afforded me of
gaining a thorough insight into the way things are
socially conducted, I understand tolerably well the
principles on which visiting is carried on. A call is
a state ceremony, and if you are the bearer of a letter
of introduction, the greater form and etiquette with
which you are received, the greater is the honour they
intend thereby to show you, and greater the compli-
ment to the friend who introduces you. Of course this
applies to the Havanese or Spanish only ; other people
act according to the custom of- their own country,
whatever that may be. The excessive formality,
however, of which I have been telling is only applicable
to the first visit or morning call, as after that you are
generally invited to the evening receptions or tertul-
lias given by most of the Havanese families on stated
evenings. Here you amuse yourself well enough, and'
above all, as you please. You may dance, or play

H 3

150 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

on the piano, or play at cards, or at petits-jeux. At
each or all of these you will find companions ; or, if
you are in a savage mood, you may swing in a rocking
chair, no very uncommon occupation either, and a very
decided improvement on trying to keep oneself still
on the edge of one, as befell me, as I have narrated,
on my first state visit to Countess O'Eeilly. To-night
I was presented to one of the great dignitaries of the
church, namely, the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba,
who bears the rather singular name (at least to my
ears), " Claret y Clara." When I was a child I used
to be called, by way of a diminutive or pet name,
" Clara Claretti," so I was not a little amused at
finding the Eeverendissimo Padre " answer to " my
name reversed, that is, " Claret y Clara ! " The
minister of police was another of the guests who at-
tracted my attention and wonder, the latter from his
being one of the most innocent and simple-looking
individuals I ever remember seeing. Nor did his
manners or conversation belie the expression of his
face. He seemed good nature and benevolence per-
sonified. Of course, all this may be assumed ; if so, he
is a consummate actor. But I can scarcely think it ;
and if he really is as kind-hearted as he looks, I should
not exactly think him qualified for the trying post
of Minister of Police in a place where, owing to the
secret machinations and insidious agents of the United
States, always at work to sow the seeds of revolt, or

MINISTER OF POLICE — FILIBUSTERS. 151

blow the faintest spark of discontent into a blaze, it
would seem imperatively necessary that one on
whom so much may depend vitally affecting the
island and the honour of the Spanish crown, should
be no mere carpet knight, but one possessed of " the
mind to will, the hand to execute." While on this
subject, i.e. the constant plots and attempts at an-
nexation carried on so unblushingly, though happily
hitherto ineffectually, by the American filibusters, I
will endeavour to give you a slight sketch of the
principal incidents connected with the memorable
Lopez expedition.

H 4

152 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXIX.

WHATEVER difference of opinion may exist regarding
the political expediency of annexation, or whatever
may be argued on the one side or the other of the
advantages to be gained by America, or even, as ad-
vanced by some casuists, ultimately to Spain, there
can be but one view entertained by any right think-
ing or even commonly honest persons with respect to
the course adopted by the States in this unhappy af-
fair. It must redound to the eternal disgrace of
the Americans, of those at least who were the movers
or promoters of the scheme, that they inveigled
into their toils, and chose for their tools — in this
atrocious outrage on a friendly nation — not grown
men who knew what they risked, knew what they did,
and, whether for good or for ill, were prepared to
abide the issue ; not these, but young, ardent, enthu-
siastic boys. In some instances, mere lads of fifteen
and sixteen were enticed and snared away from their
homes to join in this nefarious enterprise. And under
whose command were these misguided victims placed?

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — AMERICAN AGENTS. 153

Under a hero, a man of honour, a man of even ordi-
nary good faith or honesty of purpose ? No : but
under the orders of a traitor, a renegade soldier,
false to his colours and his country, a broken and dis-
graced castaway from the Spanish army — General
Narciso Lopez ! To trace the causes which influenced,
and which afterwards perhaps mainly contributed to
the maturing these schemes, and their disastrous
results, it will be necessary to go back to the com-
mencement of the year 1848. The French Bevolu-
tion, which had hurled Louis Philippe from his
throne, had not only convulsed the whole of Europe,
but had greatly added to and lent impetus to revolu-
tionary and democratic principles in both the Old
world and the New. To the demagogues of the
United States, especially, no period could have been
more propitious : their recent annexation of Texas had
disclosed to them the sweets of stolen goods — a species
of pleasure peculiarly grateful to the American sense.
Added to this, some cheap and easy victories which
had crowned their arms in the Mexican Eepublic
rendered their acquisition of Cuba an " eternal
necessity " (as a Yankee once told me in talking
over the subject). They took their measures accord-
ingly. To set the press to work to write inflamma-
tory articles in all directions, was of course easy
enough ; but besides this, they hired a number of
other agents, for the most part men of the worst
H 5

154 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

character, to visit the island in the guise of inoffen-
sive strangers, but who were to take every oppor-
tunity of fomenting any discontent which might
arise from natural causes ; to sound the opinions, and
discover the weak points of all on whom they might
find the arts of seduction would tell : in short, to
arouse the passion of resentment and kindle rebellion
against their masters in all who were misguided
enough to listen to them. One of the first, and
certainly the most important of the proselytes they
gained, was the famous Lopez. This man was a
native of Venezuela, but had served from his youth
in the Spanish army. Even after the declaration of
independence by that state, he adhered to his former
allegiance, and by his own request became a natural-
ised subject of the Spanish government, and main-
tained his rank as an officer in the army. He
was, however, a few years previously (in 1841)
General Commandant of the Centre of the Island
and Governor of Trinidad. In course of time this
was relinquished, on his being appointed President
" de la comision militar" of the whole island,
and this post he actually held in 1848, being
quartered in Cienfuegos at the southern -part of the
country. Here took place the beginning of the end
a few years later. Profiting by his high position,
and the consequent knowledge he possessed of the
strength as of the weakness of the government, as

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — FIEST CONSPIRACY. 155

well as the prestige of his own popularity, which
was considerable, he commenced the formation of
a plan, which, by the gradual and insidious corruption
of the soldiery under him, and the judicious expendi-
ture of American dollars in bribes and other modes,
was ultimately to lead to the betrayal of his trust
and the delivery of the island to the United States.
But the old saying, " Treason never prospers," proved
itself true in this instance, as in many others. In-
formation was conveyed by some unknown hand to
the then Governor of Trinidad of the conspiracy and
its chief promoter, and measures were promptly
taken for the arrest of Lopez in the first instance.
He too, however, received timely warning and suc-
ceeded in escaping to the States. A military com-
mission was held immediately, at which all circum-
stances connected with the plot were discovered.
It had not then spread very far, nor were the arrange-
ments sufficiently matured to cause for the time
being many fears for the future. Lopez was tried
by court martial, broken and disgraced from the
army, and condemned to death as guilty of high
treason and rebellion. Thus matters stood (with
the further discovery and discomfiture of another
though less important combination in the following
November) at the close of 1848. The ensuing year,
1849, passed in comparative tranquillity, disturbed
only at one period by the news of a society being

H 6

156 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

organised in Khode Island for the old story. This,
however, was publicly discouraged by the President
of the United States (General Taylor), its dispersion
ordered — a further enactment that it should be de-
clared "piracy," with all the attendant pains and penal-
ties, in whomsoever should make any fresh attempts
on Cuba. This slight interlude of peace was soon
to be troubled: 1850, which had dawned auspiciously,
was speedily to be shadowed by the dark cloud of
war and tumult, and, worse still, of pestilence ; and
even this last scourge the unfortunate Cubans owed,
under Heaven's permission, to the Americans. During
the two preceding years the southern portion of
the North American continent had terribly suffered
from the ravages of cholera ; yet, thanks to the
general precautions taken all over the island, Cuba
had so far escaped contagion. Towards the close of
the month of March a few isolated cases only pre-
sented themselves in the military hospital of Havana,
but in the course of a few short weeks the epidemic
rapidly increased, and by the middle of May the
mortality had attained an average of 125 to 150
a day in Havana alone. It was in this deplorable
state of affairs, and when the attention and energies
of all were directed to alleviating the sufferings of
the sick, and warding off as far as might be the
approaches of disease from the comparatively small
number of places that were as yet unscathed, that

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — ATTACK ON CARDENAS. 157

the first serious invasion, under the auspices of
Lopez, was accomplished. On the 19th of May
he surprised the town of Cardenas just before day-
break, and effected a landing, together with five hun-
dred companions. It seems very extraordinary
that Cardenas, though a seaport, and possessing a
population of 3500 souls, should have been in-
debted to a guard of seventeen men only for
the first desperate resistance the invaders encoun-
tered. They fought gallantly, however, though
against impossible odds ; they intrenched themselves
in four houses, and only after eleven of their little
band being killed or wounded, and the houses they
had barricaded set fire to, they succumbed. But
they had already succeeded in gaining the ines-
timable benefit of time. The obstinate defence
they had made had lasted several hours, and had
enabled a few sturdy townspeople, who had not lost
their wits with alarm, to summon assistance from the
neighbourhood. The great majority of the inha-
bitants, I am told, however, were so horror-struck,
partly with fear, and partly with surprise, at their
morning slumbers being thus so rudely broken, that
they became as if paralysed, and either barred them-
selves up in their own houses, leaving the public
buildings to the mercy of the depredators, or else, as
occurred in many instances, fled precipitately into
the country, leaving all their property to its fate.

158 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Succour was now at hand : towards the close of the
day some strong reinforcements of regular troops
from Matanzas and elsewhere poured into the
beleaguered town. These were also aided further by a
small band of the neighbouring peasantry, who
armed and placed themselves under the command of
the regular officers. A hand to hand fight now took
place, which resulted in the total rout of the enemy,
who were driven back in confusion to their boats,
and under cover of the night made good their escape,
together, unfortunately, with the traitor Lopez. The
next morning the extent of injury incurred by the
town was verified, of which it may truly be said, it is
well it was no worse. The churches, rich houses
and public buildings, generally, were despoiled of
whatever ornaments, or objects of value they con-
tained. Moreover Lopez, " qui s'y connaissait,"
contrived to " abstract " a considerable quantity of
money from the custom house and the Fondo de las
obras Publicas (an establishment answering to. the
French Hotels de Villes), both of which edifices he
completely ransacked. The news of the attack, and
its signal defeat, was now quickly conveyed to
Havana. The people concerned seemed to have been
too busy to think of taking or sending any informa-
tion at the time ; at least, it was certainly not known
in Havana till the next day, and then singularly
enough, almost simultaneously with the Cardenas

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — CAPTURE OF PRISONERS. 159

history, there entered the harbour a Spanish war-
steamer, called the Pizarro, commanded by a
Captain Armero, bringing with him between fifty
and sixty prisoners he had fished up in Yucatan.
They gave this account of themselves : that they had
started with Lopez, intending to join in the attack
on Cardenas, but had repented en route, and conse-
quently had been set on shore in Yucatan and left
to their fate. Sad and melancholy as was the
general aspect of Havana at this time of disease and
trouble, the intelligence of this double event, caused
an universal and spontaneous demonstration of
enthusiasm and goodwill to the government. The
prisoners brought in the Pizarro were mostly
liberated, with the exception of three or four, but
who afterwards received a free pardon from the
Queen. On the old principle of shutting the stable-
door when the steed was stolen (which proverb by
the bye is of Spanish origin) measures were now
taken throughout the island for an organised system
of defence. No great difficulty certainly presented
itself. In an incredibly short time, upwards of
13,000 men enrolled themselves in the volunteer
service of the Government; 3000 muskets were
distributed by the Captain- General in Havana, and
the remaining 10,000 volunteers were formed into
four battalions which were variously distributed
about the country. The style and title of " Nobles

160 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Vecinos " * were given them. There were hopes
now entertained that, tired and discouraged by the
successive failures which had been their lot, the
filibusters would at last give way, and Cuba be left
in peace. To a certain extent these hopes were
fulfilled ; a little breathing time at least was enjoyed.
In the meanwhile the governor of the island f was
relieved from the post he had filled during this
troubled period. He was succeeded by Greneral
Concha, one of 'the most popular captains-general,
from all accounts, that have ever wielded the vice-
regal sceptre here. For his administration was
reserved the honour of defeating the last and most
important attack yet made by the Annexation party,
of crushing for ever the career of Lopez and the few
Spanish adherents he had gained, and this, notwith-
standing the success which, for the first three days,
attended them; and finally of reading a lesson to the
Americans, which it is to be hoped will not be lost
upon them, teaching them how, by their unconquer-
able love of wrong and robbery, they have not only
delivered over to famine, disease, imprisonment, and
death, — inglorious and shameful death, — the num-
bers of brave and thoughtless boys, the account of
whose sufferings forms one of the most painful episodes
in this sad history ; but they have lowered themselves

* Literally, " noble neighbours."
t Greneral Roncali, Comte de Alcoy.

LOPEZ EXPEDITION STAES AND STRIPES. 161

in the estimation of mankind, disgraced the stars and
stripes in the eyes of surrounding nations. Yes,
(e repudiate " as they may, they have connived at
and allowed that flag to afford protection to as
desperate a gang of pirates and banditti as ever
crossed a sea or devastated a land. I am, however,
rather forestalling events, and must now endeavour
to relate, in their proper order, the various incidents
as they occurred, from the first alarm being sounded
in the summer of the year 1851.

162 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXX.

ON the llth of August of that year, Lopez disem-
barked at a place called El Morrillo near Bahia
Honda, a short distance to the west of Havana. His
force amounted on this occasion to about 450, but
nearly half of these consisted of the youthful victims
I have before alluded to. He directed his steps in
the first instance, with about 300 of his followers, to
the little village of Las Pozas ; the remaining por-
tion of them being left in charge of the baggage and
provisions, with orders to join themselves to the
main body at the earliest opportunity consistent with
safety. Meanwhile, unlike the former occasion, the
news had spread like wildfire, and in as short a space
of time as circumstances would allow, seven companies
of infantry under the command of General Ena em-
barked from Havana and reached the scene of action,
or I should rather say approached it, as for a short
period they halted at Morrillo to reconnoitre the state
of affairs. In talking over these things now, quietly

LOPEZ EXPEDITION GENEEAL ENA. 163

and at a distance, I am told, by those who are consi-
dered competent to pronounce a judgment, that
General Ena made a great mistake in not taking
more time ; that, seeing how things were, and that
Lopez had been enabled during the long day of the
12th of August to most importantly improve and
strengthen his position, having managed by means of
trenches, mounds, parapets, &c. to establish a sort of
fortification ; Ena should have sent for more help,
and also some guns from Havana, instead of risking
an attack under these disadvantageous circumstances.
Unfortunately, he seems, however, to have been a man
of more daring and courage than reflection ; and ac-
cordingly, without waiting for what prudence might
have counselled, he ordered an impetuous assault in
the evening. To add to the unfavourable chances, his
men were already tired, hungry, exhausted ; they had
had neither rest, food, nor drink since their disem-
barkation and had waited under arms during the
whole night of the 12th. Early on the morning then
of the 13th (having marched from Morrillo) was the
word of command given, and without one single
piece of artillery with which to return the enemy's
fire (who had well provided themselves with field
pieces), and faint in body though not in spirit, they
made a .gallant, but, as may. be supposed, fruitless
effort. The village of Las Pozas being built some-
thing in the form of a two-pronged fork, the be-

164 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

siegers had to divide themselves into two separate
parties, and as these were composed of only two
companies each (the remaining three being left as a
corps de reserve at Morrillo), little damage was done
to the besieged. After some desperate fighting, Ena
and his band were forced to retire ; their retreat was
however most admirably managed, and, as it hap-
pened, was the means, thanks to the perfect disci-
pline and order maintained, of half retrieving the
fortune of the day. Lopez trusting to the prestige
of this, his first and most unlooked-for success,
ordered a sortie, and an attack to be made in the
rear of the retreating Spaniards. This was a bad
enough move ; the Royal troops, having retreated
in unbroken order, now faced about ; a furious hand-
to-hand fight ensued, which ended in upwards of a
hundred of the enemy being left dead or wounded on
the field. While these events were taking place at
Las Pozas, the remaining three companies of the
Spanish soldiery, under the command of Colonel
Villaoz, who had remained in reserve at Morrillo, had
fallen upon the commissariat and baggage parties of
the filibusters, and obtained a signal success. These
last consisted of nearly 180 men and boys. They
were totally defeated and put to the rout : more than
half were killed and wounded on the spot; about
forty succeeded in reaching the sea and embarking
in boats, by which means ten or twelve perhaps ac-

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — LAS POZAS YUELTA ABA JO. 165

complished a safe passage to the United States ; the
remainder were caught, made prisoners, tried by
court martial and shot, poor wretches, with very
little ceremony at Havana within a few days of their
flight. Their fate, miserable as it was, however,
must be considered more fortunate than much that
was in store for some other of their fellow-conspira-
tors in this eventful and ill-starred expedition. By
his imprudent sortie from Las Pozas, and the severe
check he there encountered, Lopez had, though late,
taken warning ; and, profiting by his past experience,
he now decided on a sort of guerilla mode of warfare,
by which he hoped to hold on until he had rega-
thered and to some extent reorganised his scattered
force. With this intention he evacuated Pozas the
same day, and its terrified inhabitants might have
returned to their homes ; but they had already wan-
dered away far and wide, thinking, very reasonably,
that the marauders were unlikely to have left any-
thing but desolation behind them Lopez now re-
tired to the hills and fastnesses abounding in the
Cordillera or mountain chain of the Vuelta Abajo.
Here the natural difficulties in the way of attack,
facilities for defence, — the character of the country
rendering it inaccessible to cavalry, while immense
rocks seeming as if they had suddenly sprung from
the ground on purpose to afford safe ambuscade to
brigands of everv description, — might have well

166 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

enabled a guerilla leader, who possessed the sym-
pathies and goodwill, or even who had not incurred
the opposition, of the dwellers on the soil, to maintain
himself against all aggression for months or even
years. But this was not the good fortune of
Lopez. He had, on the contrary, provoked the
hostility and let loose the indignation of all classes
against him. The homes he had burnt and des-
troyed, the lands he had ravaged and laid waste,
the blood he had shed or caused to be shed of the
unoffending and helpless peasantry on whom he had
descended like a thunder-bolt, the havock and ruin
which everywhere marked the traces of his path', had
armed every man's hand against him : there were none
to help, there were all to oppose. Whatever he suc-
ceeded in obtaining, whether food or aught else, was
by violence or theft. Nothing was given, nothing
sold to him. War to the knife was the general and
universal sentiment aroused in the hearts of all, and
so the catastrophe was gradually approaching. Long,
long after these events had passed and gone, things
began to ooze out little by little, which showed how
miserably the majority of these unlucky Americans
must have been deceived, deliberately and systemati-
cally misled from the very beginning of the enterprise.
They were positively assured, and were shown letters
purporting to come from the heads of the principal
families in Cuba, as well as from officers high in the

LOPEZ EXPEDITION — LOYALTY OF THE CUBANS. 167

army, that the whole island was prepared to rise to a
man to shake off the Spanish dominion; that parties
were organised, plans of action laid, a period of simul-
taneous action prepared and made ready, for which
the signal was to be the- landing of Lopez and his
band : in short, that from every fort and tower the
flag of Castile and Leon was to be struck, and the
triumphant "Stripes and Stars" unfurled in its place!
How such absurd trash should have been believed for
one moment, and much more acted upon, by even the
youngest and most credulous of their number, has
never been made very clear ; but of the misrepresen-
tation by which they were deluded, there is no doubt.
To return to my narrative : the position of the enemy
being known, and, thanks to the unwavering fidelity
and loyalty of the country people, General En a and
his officers being made acquainted with every move-
ment attempted or carried into effect by the invaders,
some fresh detachments of troops having been now
supplied, the General proceeded to form a cordon
round that part of the Cordillera which sheltered the
insurgents, so as to effectually close up all avenues of
retreat, and, to a great degree, any possibility of chang-
ing their quarters. The consequence of this line of
action became soon apparent. Want of provisions
soon forced Lopez to send a foraging party from
their lurking-place to seek food, or, indeed I should
more correctly say, his whole body sallied forth for

168 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

this object. They had advanced as far as a Cafetal
or Coffee Plantation, called " El Cafetal de Frias,"
where they were attacked by the Eoyalist regiments,
commanded by Greneral Ena in person. What the
ultimate result of this engagement might have been
under other circumstances it is impossible to say, but
the conflict had scarcely begun, indeed, the general
firing had not commenced, when the ill-fated Ena,
who had ridden to the front in order to give some
directions about the maneuvering of his men, received
a ball in his chest, and immediately dropped from his
horse. He was instantaneously carried to the rear, and
some faint hopes were entertained that the wound might
not prove mortal ; but all in vain, and he breathed
his last on the field where he lay. This unlooked-for
disaster spread such consternation among the Spanish
troops, that, had the rebels taken the advantage they
might have done at the sudden shock, almost amount-
ing to a panic, which seized their opponents, they
might, at least in the first hours of confusion, have

•

gained some immediate if not permanent success. It is
doubtful, however, whether they knew what had really
occurred, until some time after ; but it is certain that,
instead of advancing or even holding the ground they
possessed, they made a precipitate and somewhat
disorderly retreat, but were unpursued ; so that this
eventful day of the seventeenth of August, which at
its commencement was supposed to herald something

LOPEZ EXPEDITION. — BURIAL OF GENERAL ENA. 169

decisive on one side or the other, left matters on the
contrary much as they were, the loss of the unfor-
tunate General Ena only excepted. The intelligence
of his death caused universal regret in Havana, where
he was respected in his public and loved in his
private character. The highest honours were paid to
his remains on their reaching Havana, whence they
were conveyed on board ship, and carried to his
native land for interment. Yet a few more days, and
the last hopes of the invaders were destroyed, and
the star of Lopez set for ever. The second in
command after General Ena, Colonel Elizalde, came
up with them at a place called Candillaria, and a
sharp engagement took place, when they were totally
routed. There now remained but a hundred fol-
lowers of Lopez out of the number he had brought
into this disastrous undertaking, and these few were
in their turn encountered on the 24th, dispersed and
scattered far and wide. And now began, for these
unfortunate victims of the criminal ambition of Lopez,
a series of hardships and miseries, the recital of
which would seem rather to belong to the pages of a
romance, than to be mere matter of actual fact. For
many a long day and weary night did the wretched
remnant of the invaders wander in the denies,
the woods, and the wilds of this unknown and
to them inhospitable land, seeking shelter in caves,
in holes, in trunks of old trees; without food,

I

170 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

almost without covering ; that which they ori-
ginally wore having been torn from their bodies
by the tangled thorns of the creepers and parasites
through which they had to make their way in their
precipitate flight ; their flesh, too, torn and bleeding
from the rude contact of the prickly-pear abounding
throughout the Cordillera ; forced to satisfy the
craving of hunger by eating the berries and even
leaves of trees; in danger from reptiles and their
poisonous bites ; and, finally, tracked surely, if slowly,
by the far-famed Cuba bloodhounds. Their state
was indeed lamentable. How often did they bewail
the day they yielded to temptation ! As may be
readily supposed, many of the young and tenderly-
reared among them sunk and died under these
accumulated sufferings and privations. Of the 500
who made good their landing, about 170 escaped
with life and were gradually caught, secured, and
imprisoned in Havana. Here they remained some
time, and were at least fed, clothed, and their wounds
tended. It might have been better, as things turned
out after all, if they had in the first instance given
themselves to the authorities, and trusted to their
clemency; but as they all lay under sentence of
death when caught, a proclamation to that effect
having been issued the day after the landing of the
expedition, they probably and naturally supposed,
after such repeated provocations, that no quarter

LOPEZ EXPEDITION. — CLEMENCY OF QUEEN ISABEL. 171

would be given them. The terrible misery they had
undergone, however, added to their youth, and the
obvious deceit of which they had been victims, were
considered as sufficient expiation for their misdeeds.
The pain of death was remitted ; and, after a com-
munication of the circumstances to the government
in the mother-country, Queen Isabel granted them a
free pardon, and they were shortly after permitted
to return to the United States, cured for life, it is to
be hoped, of nlibusterism. . . .

I 2

172 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXXI.

IT only remains now on this subject to recount the
fate of Lopez ; though this, being one of the salient
points in the history of the troubles attending Spain
at this period, is tolerably well known. After his
final defeat on the 24th of August, he, with seven
only of his companions, fled to the fastnesses in the
vicinity of the Vuelta Abajo. Four experienced
bloodhounds were placed on his track, aided by some
soldiers to follow them. The glory of capturing
him fell to the lot of a volunteer after all — a farmer,
I believe, of the name of Castaneda. The blood-
hounds had traced him to a gorge in the rocks of
Eosario, where his human pursuers came up with
him. He was secured, and brought into Havana by
his captor, Castaneda. Small space was allowed him
for any of this world's affairs. Since 1848, sentence
of death had been hanging over him; but had he
been taken then, it is supposed he would at least
have met with a soldier's doom, and been shot ; but,
as it was, he was condemned to die the death of a

END OF LOPEZ.— GAROTTE. — GENERAL CANEDO. 173

felon: and so, on the third day after his capture,
on the 1st of September, he was garotted on the
Esplanade by the Morro. A shocking sounding
and still more shocking looking mode of execution
(judging from the instrument, which I have seen),
yet it is far more instantaneous in its effect than
our fashion of hanging. And so ended the eventful
career of Lopez, and ends my narration of it, which
has extended itself to a somewhat greater length
than I anticipated when I began writing it. Though
necessarily imperfect in some of its details, from the
time which has elapsed since these events took place,
besides not having been on the spot then to hear
them commented on as they occurred, I may at
least hope to establish a claim to one merit in my
relation, namely, truth. The preceding account has
been gathered from men of different opinions, and
who consequently looked upon these occurrences
from different points of view; yet all have in the
aggregate agreed, not only as to the facts, but with
little exception as to the guiding causes of the actions
which took place. Much I have learned from the
Captain-General ; and this might be deemed, there-
fore, by those unacquainted with General Canedo's
punctilious sense of honour, a one-sided statement ;
yet to all who have had the opportunity of knowing
him, I need say nothing further in corroboration of
the truth of any words uttered by him ; and to those

I 3

174 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

who have not known him, I say merely, ask those
who have. Another person to whom I am indebted
for much valuable and reliable information concern-
ing the events which marked those days of agitation,
is a countryman of my own, Mr. Sidney Smith.
This gentleman, at the time of Lopez's invasion, was
secretary to the English Consulate at Havana, and
was what I call on the other side ; that is, his com-
passion and sympathies were aroused on behalf of
the Americans : I do not mean in the first instance
of their invasion, but after the catastrophe had oc-
curred, and the sun which had risen so brightly in
Bahia Honda had set in the prison of Havana. He
then did all that mortal man could do to alleviate
their sufferings, and to soften the hardships of their
confinement. Indeed, I am afraid his kind heart
would have prompted him even to endeavour to save
Lopez himself from the garotting he so richly de-
served. At any rate, Mr. Smith devoted himself
entirely to these poor prisoners. He gave them
money to procure better food for the sick and ailing ;
he gave them sympathy; and, better than all, he
gave them his time. He wrote to their parents and
friends to tell them all that might be told; and
many a mother's heart he gladdened by letting her
know that her child was at least in life. Finally,
by his unwearying patience and indefatigable exer-
tions, he succeeded ; and I do not think I am saying

AMERICANS. — MR. SIDNEY SMITH. 175

too much when I attribute to his indomitable and
persevering efforts (at least to a very considerable
extent), the ultimate pardon and freedom granted
to the remnant of the band. The people in the
United States who were connected with and con-
cerned in these affairs, I know, share this opinion ;
apropos of which, before finally taking leave of this
subject, I must do the Americans the justice to say
that they have neglected no opportunity of testifying
their gratitude and appreciation of Mr. Sidney
Smith's generous and kind-hearted actions regarding
their unhappy countrymen. His first visit to the
States, after the events to which I have alluded, was
a perfect ovation from the beginning to the end of
his journey. In conclusion, it must seem even to
the most sanguine on the subject of the annexation
of Cuba by America, that whatever may be reserved
for the future to bring to pass, it is a futile and
utterly hopeless dream to indulge in at present.
Without going into the political question between
America and Spain, or the foreign influence in
Europe which would be brought to bear on the
subject upon either side, it seems clearly demon-
strated that Cuba herself wishes no change, and is
intrinsically loyal to the Spanish government. Were
this not the case, were the people disposed to foster
the growth of disaffection or rebellion, civil war
would ere now be rife throughout the island, and

I 4

176 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

when quelled in one spot would speedily break out
in another. As I have had occasion to remark in
the course of this little narrative, nature has pro-
vided every convenience, every facility, for resisting
the powers that be. A very small number of rebels
could hold out against an army, if they possessed
the good-will of the peasants ; but that up to the
present time has ever failed invaders, — filibusteros
pirates, et hoc genus omne. This is a voluminous
letter, but I shall send it by a private hand.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

HOSPITALITY IN HAVANA. 177

CHAPTER XXXII.

Havana, Nov. 20th. — My dear Father, — Our time
has passed very agreeably since our return from
Mexico, chiefly in mixing with the private society, as
there has been a good deal of party-giving during the
last week or two. The hosts and hostesses here are
every thing that can be wished for, and in this com-
mendation I include those of all nations. Indeed it
would be difficult to specify whether Spanish, English,
French, G-erman, or American have received us with
the most cordiality and kindness. Mrs. Crawford, the
wife of the English Consul, gives weekly receptions, or
tertullias ou Von s'amuse, I must confess, far more
than in our native " at homes " or the dansants. I
cannot help thinking that one cause of this is, that in
England we all, not only the " budding misses," but
all of us, more or less, are constantly thinking " what
he, she, it, or they may be about." We are always
wishing, hoping, or expecting something, and, until
that something comes or happens, we make it a sort of
point of honour to exemplify in another sense the

I 5

178 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Irishman's exclamation, " I will not be pleased, and
no one shall please me," instead of taking things as they
come, or as they are, and making the most of them,
We have spent also many pleasant days and evenings
with two of the married sisters of Mrs. Crawford, who
are married to Germans, and who reside outside the
town, that is, in the Serro. The charm of these
quintas is indescribable; the freshness of the air, and
the fragrance of the shrubs and flowers, are perfectly
delicious; and if, as sometimes occurred, we went at
night, it reminded one of a fairy tale. We were
literally lit " by the firefly's lamp," myriads of these
beautiful little earthly stars attending us on our way.
One English and two French men-of-war are here
now, whose officers help to enliven our tertullias. We
went last night to the Tacon with the Captain Ge-
neral, a grand gala night in honour of Queen Isabel's
fete-day. The house was brilliantly illuminated
a giorno, and above our box were suspended, for
this occasion only, full length portraits of the Eoyal
lady and her husband. Saw Matilda Diaz, a star of
Old Spain, who has come to astonish the Havanese.
But she had been ill, and her voice was still weak,
so no doubt we heard her to disadvantage. The
national air of Spain was played and sung as soon as
the Captain-General entered the house. I like it
very much. It is in march time, 'consequently
quicker than ours, but very inspiring. I should men-

DRIVE IN STATE. — QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY. — MARIANAO. 179

tion that, before the opera yesterday, we were takeu
by the good nature of the Captain-General for a drive
" in state," which was very amusing, as well as agree-
able. Every body and every animal was dressed in full
costume, something like our birthday drawing-room
day in England. The carriage we were in was an open
barouche, the arms of Spain emblazoned on the
panels. The interior seats and cushions were of rich
amber colour satin, and the horse's harness, caparisons,
trappings, &c. all gold.

We took an early ride on horseback this morning
to the village of Marianao a few miles out of town,
and famous for the beauty of its scenery ; the muU
titude and grandeur of the

" palms which never die, but stand

Immortal sea marks on the strand,
Their feathery tufts like plumage rare,
Their stems so high, so strange, and fair; "

and, lastly, for a most picturesque and beautifully con-
structed bridge over the little river, Almendares, which
is in fact the main object "to be admired," say the
guide books, by the various people who make this
excursion from Havana. It (the bridge) appeared
to me to be very much on the principle of providing
a cathedral arch for a goose to walk under, the river,
or rather stream, appearing so completely out of all
proportion to the magnificence of the bridge thrown

I 6

180 ' WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

across it. Rivers and streams, however, in these parts
of the world, are not always so quiet as they look, and
no doubt there are sufficient reasons to justify the
strength given to this very handsome structure.
Marianao itself is a favourite resort for the towns-
people, when they want a little repose or change of
air, which here is very pure and healthy ; and the
town being built on the top of a hill, the climate is
considered more bracing than Havana; besides
being more a la portee of most people than the ex-
pensive semi-palaces of the " Serro," where the rich
merchants and noblesse chiefly go for their villeg-
giatura. On returning to Havana this morning, we
arrived at the city gates in company with all the
donkeys, mules, horses, and carts, with their respective
burdens, going to market : a busy as well as amus-
ing scene. The sellers of vegetables and fruits es-
pecially, with their extraordinary yet musical cries;
the panniers laden with the weight of pine-
apples, melons, guavas bananas, oranges, lemons,
sapotes, cocoa-nuts, prickly pears, and several other
fruits of which I cannot tell the names, heaped to-
gether in luxuriant profusion : then the sellers of
fish with a still more motley and incomprehensible
collection ; the dealers in (( aves." i. e., not " Ave-
Marias ! " but birds of all kinds, alive and dead.
This united collection of curiosities, both animal and
vegetable, formed altogether a scene I should think

MARKETS. — TRAGICAL EVENT. — MADAME DOMINGUE. 181

unique of its kind. Seeing the various provisions,
too, in this manner, was more agreeable than paying
a visit to the market-place itself ; as, in consequence
of the very dense assemblage of blacks in attendance
for the purpose of purveying for their own or their
master's household, the odours are not exactly those
of Araby the Blest.

24:th. — The day after the rejoicings in honour of
the queen I have related in the earlier part of this
letter, a very tragical event has occurred. Madame
Domingue, the prima donna of the opera, a good
singer and a very pretty woman, was murdered by
her husband, on her return from the opera, where she
had been performing one of her favourite parts. She
was stabbed in forty different places. The wretched
man endeavoured to kill himself immediately after-
wards but was unsuccessful ; he has therefore been
brought to trial, and to-day was pronounced guilty.
Jealousy, as may be supposed, was the cause of the
crime. His hallucination on this point appears to
have been carried to such an extent, that I doubt
whether, had he been tried for the murder in England
instead of here, he would not have been acquitted on
the ground of insanity. He seems to have been
possessed with the idea that his wife was unfaithful
to him, and that the object of her fancy was the
Captain-General ! Moreover he persuaded himself
that she was in the habit of getting up from her bed

182 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

in the middle of the night for the purpose of visiting
her supposed lover at the Quinta ! As all this was
manifestly a delusion, she having been actually pre-
sent before his eyes on some of the occasions he
maintained she was absent, besides it being proved
that the Captain-General had never seen Madame
Domingue at all, except on the stage, it would seem
certain that the unfortunate man was not a respon-
sible being. Still, I am very much inclined to think
it more merciful to society in general to put an end
to so dangerous a lunatic as this. Mad or not, when
one person deliberately cuts another to pieces, he may
well meet the fate of an assassin. The authorities here
are apparently of the same opinion, as this malefactor
is condemned to the garotte, and will be executed in
a few days. . . . We are going to-morrow a few
miles into the country for the purpose of visiting a
tobacco plantation. I shall write an account of it in
my next. For the present, then, adieu.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

VEGrA OR TOBACCO PLANTATION. 183

CHAPTEK XXXIII.

Havana, November 26th.- — My dear Father, — We
have now returned from the proposed visit to a "Vega"
or tobacco plantation, to which I alluded in my last
letter, and we have greatly enjoyed our excursion. I
was anxious to see, and if possible to thoroughly under-
stand, all about this very important branch belonging
to the " Cosas de Cuba." This ground of which I
am now writing is on an estate belonging to Queen
Christina of Spain, who possesses a good bit of pro-
perty of one kind or another in this island. A very
important accessory to all lots or portions of land de-
voted to the culture of the tobacco-plant is a river,
or running stream, in the close vicinity. Whether this
be an indispensable adjunct or not I could not clearly
discover, but the intendente who explained every-
thing to me said the cigarros were always much finer
flavoured when grown near water; and certainly, as far
as I can recollect, in all the tobacco grounds I have seen
there was always a rivulet at least of some kind or an-
' other close by. The proper name, by the way, of what we

184 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

call tobacco; is " Cohiba," but in the olden time, when
the Spaniards first came across the Atlantic, among
other good will offerings made them by the Indians
were u tobaccos " of the cohiba plant ; that is to
say, the rolled leaf or leaves (cigars in short) prepared
for smoking was named by them a " tobacco ;" hence
the mistake arose, the Spanish supposing the name of
the manufacture was the name of the plant. This
error has, however, never yet been corrected, and is not
likely to be so, now that long use and habit have
sanctioned the wrong appellation. To proceed there-
fore, tobacco (not cohiba) is seldom grown in larger
lots or portions of ground than would cover about
twenty acres in one place. I mean by this, that one
proprietor may possess three or four, or more tobacco
gardens or plantations, but they are studded about
different parts of his territory, and no one of them
is of greater extent than from twenty to thirty acres.
The principal reason of these small subdivisions is,
that, being a tolerably manageable article of culture,
small capitalists may venture on it ; consequently, in
many and most instances, the grounds -are underlet,
and rented of the original proprietor. Another
and very important circumstance in favour of culti-
vating tobacco in preference to other natural pro-
ductions here, especially for the majority of European
residents, is that it can be tended by white people.
From six to eighteen or twenty labourers, according

TOBACCO. — DIFFERENT KINDS. 185

to the size of the lot, are sufficient for all that is re-
quired in the management. Before the year 1820,
tobacco was a government monopoly, but since then
this restriction has been removed with respect to Cuba,
a tax only being levied on each arroba or weight of
25 Ibs. In Old Spain, I believe, the monopoly still
exists on all grown in the country actually. But it
was found not to answer in the colonies. My
cicerone, who was good-natured enough not only to
explain in an ordinary way, but to tell me all the
various processes and stages from the very beginning,
said there was little manual labour or difficulty in
its cultivation, but that it required the most constant
watching and care, and, furthermore, no little exercise
of judgment as to the proper times and seasons in
which to cut, to prune, to clip, to water, and to thin
in quantity, so very much of the after goodness and
delicacy of flavour, whether in cigars or in snuff,
depending on their treatment in this their infant
cabbage state ; and this knowledge cannot be gained
by the laying down of regular rules, or any distinct
course of treatment, but must be the result of careful
observation and repeated experiences. When the
season of gathering arrives, the leaves are stripped
from the stem, spread out as flat as may be, and
placed in packets of twos and threes to dry. These
leaves have been divided into four different classes,
each varying in its degree of excellence. Speaking

186 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

of the tobacco plant as of a cabbage, — to which it
bears more resemblance than any other I can think
of,— the leaves nearest the heart are the most valu-
able, and are called "desechos." Those immediately
contiguous to them come next; they are named
" desechitos." The two remaining qualities, num-
bers three and four, are respectively called "libras"
and " injuriados." They are formed of the lower
and coarser leaves of the plant; the "libras" being
the better and tenderer, and the " injuriados " being
the lower and external leaves nearest to the root and
the ground. This last class, namely, the injuriados,
are in their turn sub-divided into three ; called
" injuriado de repaso " (which means chosen or
selected), "injuriados primeras" and " segundas."
There is, in addition to those I have mentioned,
another hybrid sort, composed of the slightly in-
jured leaves of classes two and three, namely, the
desechitos and libras, which go by the rather con-
tradictory name of " injuriados buenos." And indeed
I may add another and worst class, made of worm-
eaten or otherwise spoilt leaves. This is uncompro-
misingly and frankly called here "injuriado malo;
but I am by no means sure that it is not sold in
other countries under a far better sounding name.
Having given these details so far, I will now return
to the packets on the drying-ground before mentioned.
When sufficiently dried, they are collected together

CIGARS. — MANOJOS. — YAGUAS. 1 87

and assorted in bundles, rather resembling sheaves
of corn ; each sheaf containing about fifty leaves of
number four, or injuriados, and twenty-five leaves
of number three, or libras. These sheaves are in
their turn formed into larger loads, at the rate of
four to a faggot, and are then called " manojos." A
hundred and forty manojos constitute a "tercio;"
and it is in this form they are sent away from their
native earth, either to be rolled into cigars or used
a la Yankee, &c. Two tercios constitute a weight,
called a carga, equal to eight arrobas, or 200 Ibs.
This measure is the one which is charged for — so
much a carga — in questions of freight. Connected
with these manojos, I observed a curious purpose to
which the bark of the palm tree is put. The outer
peel of the stem, which is of a kind of scaly sub-
stance, being removed, it is used as an envelope or
covering for each tercio, or bundle of 140 manojos,
preserving the tobacco hermetically from air, damp,
or other injury. These envelopes are called in Cuban
dialect, "yaguas." From the above particulars,
which I hope I have given with sufficient clearness
to be useful to those who may be interested in the
subject, it will be seen that the first or ultra-superior
sort of cigars must necessarily be small in quantity
compared to those made from the more numerous
and larger leaves. Still it may be satisfactory to
know, if you cannot get the best, what the next

188 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

qualities should be, and also what are good mixtures.
The proportionate produce of the various qualities,
according to the returns of the year 1853, was, to
a "caballeria" or piece of ground of thirty-two acres,
9,000 Ibs. of tobacco. Of this quantit3T, 450 Ibs. only
(or one-twentieth) are contributed by the desechos,
or first class; 1800 by the desechitos; 2250 by the
libras; and 4500 by the injuriados. In speaking
of the various sorts, it may be remembered that I
have mentioned some of the leaves as worm-eaten.
On this part of the history of tobacco culture my
guide was most eloquent. It would appear that a
taste for (( the fragrant weed " is by no means con-
fined to the human race : every description of worm,
snail, and creeping thing seems to be addicted to the
habit. Month after month do their depredations
continue, and one marauder only gives way to be
succeeded by another worse than himself. It is the
injury and often destruction caused by these insects
that renders it imperative on the tobacco-grower to
keep such a continual watch over his plants, to ex-
amine them narrowly, and every day, and to be on
the look-out to discover and arrest, before it be too
late, the inroads of the enemy. By far the most
formidable of these insect adversaries, however, is
the ant ; and of this tribe a particular species, called
" vivijaguas," are blessed with so voracious an ap-
petite, that woe be to the unlucky plantation into

BENEFITS OF FOREIGN INVASION. 139

which they succeed in making good their entry.
It is but rarely they can be expelled before they
have devoured everything. I was told — but the
relation seems to me so apocryphal, that in re-
peating it I merely " tell the tale as told to me,"
not as believing it, namely — that the plague of ants,
having at one time reached such a degree of in-
tensity, that the whole tobacco trade was threat-
ened with annihilation, when some inventive genius
bethought him of importing a foreign army for the
purpose of exterminating the natives ! France was
applied to (I should have thought America more to
the purpose), who benevolently furnished a " legion "
of ants, which speedily commenced operations, and
by keeping the unfortunate aborigines in constant
hot water by means of skirmishes, sieges, and battles,
saved the tobacco crops! In addition to these
terrestrial helps, the powers above come in also for
their share of praise and gratitude. A celestial
worthy called Saint Marcial, and whose prowess and
exploits against ants seem to have beaten Saint
George and the dragon quite to smithereens, has
masses and all manner of similar delicate attentions
paid to him by the tobacco-growing portion of the
inhabitants of the beautiful " Queen of the Antilles.''
His day is the 30th of June, on which occasion all
tobacco-growers here go to church, even if the ants
keep them away on other occasions. In conclusion

190 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

of (e the great tobacco question," it may be mentioned
that the quantity now exported annually from Cuba
averages 11,250,000 Ibs. of branch or leaf tobacco, and
1,250,000 Ibs. twisted rolls or cigars (I speak now of
legal exportation); and the quantity consumed in the
island averages about 7,500,000, but an immense
deal it is well known is smuggled in spite of the
vigilance of the authorities. The parts of Cuba most
favourable to the growth and good condition of the
plant are the western and southern districts gene-
rally. In the east the produce is of an inferior kind.
The sort called " Virginian " is chiefly grown here.
The proprietor or renter of a vega does not depend,
however, only on tobacco for his livelihood or profit.
By a bountiful provision of nature, the same soil is
peculiarly propitious to the constitution of the plan-
tain tree, which may almost be termed the bread and
meat of the labourer in the tropics; they roast, fry,
boil, and dress the fruit in every imaginable way, and
can by the addition sometimes of a little rice, or
chilis, or oil, or frijoles (a sort of red bean greatly
liked), vary their food or its mode of preparation every
day. In all vegas therefore the plantain tree holds
a distinguished situation ; besides, though that is of
no consequence to the agriculturist, the general cha-
racter of the ground is infinitely improved in a
picturesque point of view by the intermixture of
these graceful trees with the cabbagy-looking tobacco

PLANTAINS. — NUMBER GROWN IN CUBA. 191

bushes. It is calculated that the number of plan-
tains, that is to say, the fruit produced by the
plantain tree, exceeds that of all the other vegetable
productions of the same class* added together. The
government, who institute the most minute statistical
inquiries concerning everything, have obtained on
this head, for instance, the curious computation that
ten millions four hundred thousand arrobas, which
multiplied by twenty-five make two hundred and
sixty millions Ibs. weight of plantains, are annually
grown in Cuba.

* Namely, the Yuca or Cassava root, the Baniato, the Name, and
Malanga, the three last being species of potatoes and yams.

192 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE Captain- G-eneral has sent me a beautiful pre-
sent in the shape of a genuine Havana fan. The
carvings in mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell, executed
by the Havanese artisans, are extraordinary specimens
of fine and curious workmanship, fan-making being
the principal and most lucrative branch of their
handiwork. I do not know, and do not remember
whether any ancient chroniclers inform us, if fans
were used in Spain before the discovery of America,
though, j udging by the manners and customs of the
people here, I should be rather inclined to think this
must have been their native place. During the
whole time of my sojourn in Cuba, I never remem-
ber a single instance of noticing a native woman
or girl without a fan in her hands. Of course they
vary much in quality, but of some kind or other, a
fan is an indispensable adjunct to the get-up of the
female sex. That which I have just received is most
elaborately and delicately carved in mother-of-pearl.
The intricacies of a design embracing fruit, flowers,

FANS — MAN ATI, OR SEA-COW. 193

and birds, are worked with the most wonderful
minuteness ; indeed, so much so as to more resemble
those curious and skilfully cut-out papers one sees
placed over French plums or bonbons. The tips of
these finely worked, expensive fans are, like this one,
painted either on parchment or vellum, and are im-
ported from Paris, painting being one of the fine
arts in which the Cubans have yet to distinguish
themselves. Tortoiseshell, as I have also mentioned,
is brought to as great a state of perfection in the
carving as mother-of-pearl. While on the subject
of hand labour I must not omit to notice another
manufacture for which one part of the island, the
coast near and about Trinidad, is famous, namely, the
making sticks, canes, and various similar kinds of
objects, of the bones of a colossal fish, called the
" manati," or sea-cow. The manati chiefly resorts to
the mouths of rivers, and shows a preference for
what is neither quite salt nor quite fresh water. In
appearance it greatly resembles a whale, but with
rather a pig-shaped head. I can only judge, how-
ever, from pictures, as I never was lucky enough to
see one either alive or dead. The back-bone is the
part most generally used for the articles they manu-
facture from the animal, as the purest and clearest
pieces are here obtained. The cane is of most
remarkable strength, and has the colour and appa-
rent consistency of amber, but is far harder and

I

194 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

stronger. So great indeed is considered to be the
danger which might accrue from either a thoughtless
or angry use of it, that its employment as a walking-
stick or weapon is absolutely prohibited in the island,
a very slight stroke having been attended some time
since with fatal results. Nevertheless, it seems to me
to be a most arbitrary and moreover useless measure
to forbid their use, as a death-blow might be dealt
with any sort of stick if maliciously and violently
struck. I should for my part, however, even were
there no prohibition, think their weight in the hand
the most forcible argument, especially in a hot cli-
mate, against carrying them about. Even when,
only of the thickness of most ordinary sticks, they are
most unpleasantly heavy.

November 30th. — Went to the opera to-night for
the double purpose of thanking the Captain-General
for the fan, and also to try my hand at flirting it in
the proper Havanese manner. I think I have suc-
ceeded pretty well, and shall no doubt improve with
practice. The only difficulty is to flirt it slowly
enough, so as to give the long, drawling kind of rattle
which is so marked a peculiarity to be observed in
the Tacon assemblages. A drawling rattle seems a
contradictory form of expression, yet I can think of
no better term to describe my meaning. All the
fans, with very few exceptions, being made, as I have
before said, of mother-of-pearl or tortoiseshell, the

FASHION — JEWELS — CASCARILLA. 195

sort of clicking sound of the opening and closing one
fan in the orthodox slow and measured way, when
multiplied four or five hundred times and continued
incessantly, gives very much this impression to the
ear. Yet, strange to say, the effect is by no means
disagreeable. Though a noise certainly, it is a gentle
one, and actually harmonises very well with the
music. Apropos of national customs, it is a singular
fact that the graceful and beautiful Spanish man-
tilla does not find favour with the fair inhabitants
of Cuba. It is the more incomprehensible that
whereas in Mexico, where the Spaniards no longer
rule, the fashion of wearing mantillas among the
higher, and rebosos (a coarser sort of the same thing)
among the lower classes, still universally prevails ;
here, on the contrary, though essentially Spanish in
other tastes and opinions, a mantilla is never seen.
Women, old and young, drive about in their volantes
with decolletees dresses of all colours, the senoras
blazing with jewels on both neck and head, and the
senoritas with wreaths or bunches of flowers. Also I
must not forget a most important item in Havana
toilettes, namely, the cascarilla powder which they
all, but more especially the young, most plenti-
fully lay on their faces, necks, arms, and hands. It
is used in the most incredible quantities, but without
the slightest attempt at disguise : indeed, they say,
and no doubt with truth, that it saves them from

K 2

196 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

being burnt by sun or wind. But the effect, espe-
cially at night, is singular in the extreme. One does
not always see the powder then (indeed, one can very
seldom distinguish it by candle-light), and as they
never use rouge, the contrast between their magnifi-
cent black hair, large dark eyes, and the snowy
appearance given to the skin by this powder, affords
a most striking coup d'ceil — particularly remark-
able when they are dancing at a ball or tertullia — no
heat, no exercise, ever causing any apparent alteration
in the complexion, or sending any visible flush to
the cheek. In speaking of the Havanese manner of
spending the evening, their music or their dancing,
as the case may be, I should not omit mentioning a
nightly custom, not the least singular or romantic of
the catalogue, — I mean the musical cries of the watch-
men calling the hours of the night. To me it is quite
an inducement to try and remain awake for two or
three hours for the purpose of listening to them. They
generally begin by some kind of invocation to the
Virgin, coupled with the name occasionally of the
saint whose day it may happen to be. For example,
" Ave Maria sanctissima ! Madre de Dios ! y Santa
Teresa Virgen ! Estan las dos de la manana y sereno."
As it is very seldom that the weather is anything
else than "sereno," there is little variation in the
latter part of this oration ; but the tone, the melody,
is really beautiful. The whole is sung like an opera

WATCHMEN — MUSICAL CRIES. 197

" recitative," and the last word " sereno " is cadenced
with a " sweetness long drawn out," reminding one
of Mario's " Addio ! " I must now conclude this
longish letter. I fear the tobacco part of it will not
interest you greatly, not being a smoker. Still, as
tobacco is so very important a matter in Cuba, I
have given you a little sketch on the subject.

Your always affectionate,

a

198 WANDEKINGS IN THE WESTEEN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XXXV.

) Dec. 2nd. — The time is now rapidly
approaching, my dear Father, when we must take
a long farewell, I fear, of Havana, as I have promised
to spend Christmas-day at Barbados. Yesterday our
old friend, Captain Parker, commanding the " Dee,"
arrived here on his way to Vera Cruz. He was de-
tained at New York a considerable time, the work-
people there having had a great press of business
on hand. However, the old ship looks considerably
the better for the painting and decoration she has
received. We have decided on going to St. Thomas
in her when she returns from the Vera Cruz trip.
This Captain Parker expects to be in about a fortnight.
Meantime we shall endeavour to visit some other
parts of this island, although it will be difficult to
tear ourselves away from the pleasant daily routine
of our lives at Havana.

Dec. 5th. — The Fates have been unpropitious ; for
after having all in readiness to set out on our little
tour Tuesday last, the illness of the friend who was

MATAN7AS — TUMUBI. 199

to accompany us has delayed us till now, and now
our time is short. To save as much as possible we
went last night by steamboat to Matanzas, which we
reached this morning (the 6th) after a rougher and
more unpleasant passage than we have yet experienced
since we first ventured on the Atlantic. Every one
was ill, myself included, wonderful to relate — very dis-
creditable, I must confess, for a twelve hours' voyage !
We brought with us a letter of introduction to Mr.
Brinckenhoff, a gentleman residing here (a partner
in the banking-house of Drake & Co.). This gentle-
man has most kindly placed everything at our " dis-
position," and among other things has provided us
with saddle-horses. So when it had become rather
cooler we set out, and had a most delightful ride in
view of one of the most beautiful and thoroughly
tropical scenes we have yet witnessed in our wander-
ings. Cumbre and the valley of " Yumuri " were the
two points of destination in our excursion. The
word " Yumuri " has a romantic and mournful deriva-
tion. In ancient days, soon after the discovery of the
western world, the original inhabitants of this val-
ley were cruelly persecuted by the Spaniards in their
fanatic zeal for the spread of Christianity. After being
hunted like wild beasts from place to place, blood-
hounds were finally employed to track them. In the
desperation they were driven to, sooner than be mas-
sacred in cold blood, many of them threw themselves

200 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

from the heights into the river flowing below, with the
wailing cry of " To moir ! " " I die : " hence the name
Yumuri. It was very lovely, and reminded me of the
far-famed description of the Vale of Cashmere. We
looked down from a great height over groves of
palm-trees (the trees of fairy-land), orange trees
bending beneath their burden of golden fruit, sugar
plantations spreading far and wide, over hill and
dale, all tinged with a colour the tropics alone can
show ; then the winding river, and the bright spark-
ling blue sea in the distance bounding all, formed a
picture not easily to be forgotten.

7th. — Set out very early this morning by the
" Coliseo " railroad, and in about an hour stopped at
Cardenas, near which place is the residence of a planter
to whose house we were addressed by Mr. Brinckenhoff.
They are Americans, and gave us a kindly and hospita-
ble welcome and an excellent breakfast, after which
we mounted our horses, and this time took a longer
ride than before. After a course of ten miles, we
reached a sugar estate belonging to Mr. Drake, and
christened by the American name of Saratoga. He
(Mr. Drake) is now in Paris, but has left his slaves
and estate in the care of a superintendent who
received us. We went to the sugar-house, and saw
the whole process of making the sugar. Everything
now is rendered comparatively easy to the slaves
here, owing to the use of machinery. Perhaps the

MR. DRAKE RIDE IN THE SUGAR-CANES. 201

most interesting part of the whole is the first
process which the sugar-canes undergo when cut
from the plantation or field. They are sent pell-
mell into a machine looking like a tilted waggon,
by which they are impelled down an inclined plane,
and when they reach the bottom they are caught
in the embrace of two huge rollers turned by a
steam engine, and by them are crushed and ground
into shapeless pulps. The pure syrup thus produced
is the " first state " of the sugar. The slaves, malgre
Mrs. Beecher Stowe, look exceedingly happy, and
tminteresting. Mr. Drake has about 600 on this
estate. After having nearly boiled ourselves in the
sugar-house, we mounted our horses and rode all
round the estate and through the plantations. I
never enjoyed a ride so much, nor experienced such
complete novelty. Far as the eye could reach,
the sugar-canes spread themselves around us, looking
at a distance like a vast jungle, — monotonous, yet
possessing a beauty peculiarly their own, with the
tender green of their tapering leaves, and undeni-
able grace of their feathery flowers crowning the
canes as with delicate blue plumes. Then the exhi-
larating effect on the spirits of cantering over the
soft turf through the long glades cut in every direc-
tion though the canes. I should never have tired
for my own part, I believe, but my steed demanded
some consideration ; so, most reluctantly, I wended

K 5

202 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

my way at length back to the house. We paid
another visit at night to the sugar-buildings. Saw
the slaves at supper, and tasted some capital bread
and treacle they offered us.

8th. — Keturned to Matanzas very much gratified
by all we had seen. -Mr. Brinckenhoff having
kindly pressed us to stay another day with him and
his daughter, we have, nothing loth, accepted his
good-natured invitation. After breakfast we took a
walk about the town, and along the sea-shore for
some distance ; a pretty, bright scene, and most
agreeable temperature. In the afternoon we visited
Mr. B.'s tobacco ground.

9th. — After having passed a most agreeable time
with our kind hosts at Matanzas, we this morning
returned by the Grumes railroad though Eegla to
Havana. Here we found our old friend the Captain-
Greneral making his preparations for departure, his
three years of government having nearly expired.
He and his suite are to start on their return to
Spain the week after we leave. Sorry as I am to
bid farewell to Havana on many accounts, it is some
small consolation that one of the best and most
valued of our friends here is going away too. He
has made me a present of two dear little gazelles,
which I shall hope to be able to keep alive in
England; also three very handsome specimens of
Labrador ducks, with which I propose ornamenting

GAZELLES — DUCKS. 203

the Chauntry ponds. General Canedo had a small
menagerie at his quinta, being particularly fond of
animals. These gazelles were his especial pets : it is
therefore doubly kind of him to give them to me.
Captain Parker has most good-naturedly offered to
take charge of them, see they are well lodged and
fed on board ship, and bring them safe to England.*
As we shall be very busy from now until the time of
our departure, I shall close this letter. If I have time
I will write once again before leaving.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

* My hopes on this subject were never realised. Spite of every
care, the poor gazelles died within a week of leaving the tropics. A
bitter east wind in the English Channel finished them.

204 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XXXVI.

Havana, December 26th. — My dear Father, — The
"Dee" arrived to-day, and if all be well we shall hope to
embark in her to-morrow ; but the last of our sojourn
here has been saddened by a most unexpected and
melancholy occurrence. Two days after my last
letter, a young man of about two-and-twenty, the
nephew of a gentleman (a judge by profession, I
understand) who had only arrived from New Orleans
a few days previously, complained in the middle of
dinner that he felt ill. He was recommended to go
to bed and take some simple remedy, it being
supposed he had got a chill which a night's rest
would cure. Nothing more was then thought of the
incident, and if any anxiety were expressed it was
rather for the uncle, who was an old man, I believe,
but I never saw him, and who had never come out of
his room since his arrival at the hotel. The next
day the young man was pronounced better, and was
to get up and join us at table at supper. He did not
come, however, but about twelve o'clock at night, I,

YELLOW FEVER — GENERAL PANIC. 205

whose bedroom was next to his, was aroused by hear-
ing moans and the sound of some one tossing about
violently in bed. I immediately woke up the mis-
tress of the hotel and the servants, and the doctor
being summoned instantly, the disease was declared
to be yellow fever in its worst form. But this, ter-
rible as it was, was not so bad as what followed. The
surprise and the sudden shock, I suppose, of the much
dreaded "vomito " being so near in all its horrors,
caused such a panic among the inmates of the house
that the morning had scarcely dawned before they all
took their departure, and I am sorry to add that of
many American women who were under this roof not
one remained to help their countryman in his hour
of need. The whole affair seems to me like a
frightful dream. Towards the end of the day, partly
from curiosity and partly from solicitude, and more-
over not having the slightest fear of infection myself,
I went into the sufferer's room, and there witnessed
that which decided me to remain and tend him till
all should be over, whether for good or for evil. A
nurse had been engaged — sent from the hospital -
a thorough hireling ; and as I entered she was en-
deavouring violently to force a spoon with some ice
in it between the poor patient's teeth, which, in the
strong convulsive fits which at periods attacked him,
nearly locked the teeth together. Poor fellow! he
was quite sensible then, though he could not speak.

206 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

I saw, by the wistful look of his eyes, how he appre-
ciated gentle handling and speaking to. Some hours
after, in an interval of calm, he told me he recognised
me, and called me by my name. Another night and
another day dragged on, when towards five o'clock
it became evident the end was approaching. I think
nearly at the last he was conscious, as he signed to
me to take his hand and warm it between mine, as
I had done before. He then turned his head away ;
and about half an hour after that, the doctor pro-
nounced all was over — the pulse had ceased to beat.
Now that the reaction has come, and I have time
to think, I begin both to feel frightened and to
wonder if I shall escape, not only on my own account,

but on E 's, who was too courageous to run away

like the rest. Still, though I did not go near her
during this painful week, she was under the same
roof. The Captain-General has just been spending
one last hour with us to say good-bye, and in hopes
we .may all meet again in the old country. We are
to embark at sunset, dull and dispirited enough ; but
we must hope for the best, though danger is not
considered over for nine days.

Ever your affectipnate,

a

ST. THOMAS — SAN MARTIN. 207

CHAPTER XXXVII.

St. Thomas, Dec. 21 st. — My dear Father, — You
will be glad to find by the date of this that we have
arrived here in safety, and I am happy to add that
the sea-breeze and change of scene have had a very
beneficial effect ; I am fast recovering from my de-
pression, and hope I am no longer in danger of
catching the fever. St. Thomas looks green and
pretty as before, though now it has lost the charm of
novelty. The weather being fine and calm, Captain
Parker sent us in the boat on an excursion to San
Martin, another of the little cluster of islands be-
longing to the Danish crown. San Martin is chiefly
frequented as a kind of watering-place for the
benefit of the residents in St. Thomas when they
wish to " go out of town." The Governor is now
here with his family. Our principal reason for
making this marine promenade was to avoid being
present at the disagreeable operation of coaling,
which renders the vessel almost unbearable while it
lasts, the black dust penetrating into every nook and

208 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

corner, however well guarded ; besides which the
coal wharf is said to be the most unhealthy spot
possible — the hot-bed of yellow fever, cholera, and
all manner of diseases. They have a strange custom
here which I should not forget to mention, namely,
that the actual bodily labour of carrying the loads
of coals from their original depot at the wharf to the
ship's side is performed by women, whose privilege
it especially is, and who would energetically resist
any encroachment by the other sex. We have just
returned from our expedition. The old " Dee " is in
tolerable order, but the world in general is in a great
state of dismay and tribulation. You would never
guess what has happened, so I must tell you. A
ship, laden with ice, from the United States has
struck upon one of the Virgin Grordoa rocks. The
crew are all safe and sound, but the ice has gone to
the bottom of the sea. It sounds rather ridiculous
to hear the lamentations raised in consequence of
this catastrophe ; still, no doubt we as well as others
shall feel the discomfort of getting warm wine and
water, melted butter*, &c. An odd complaint — is it
not ? — to make at Christmas time !

Martinique, Dec. 24th. — Since leaving St. Thomas
three days ago we have been winding through the
mazes, and touching for a few hours at many of these
beautiful Windward Islands, or lesser Antilles. St.
Christopher's or St. Kitt's, Nevis, Montserrat, Anti-

ST. KITT'S — NEVIS — GTJADALOUPE. 209

gua, Dominica, and Guadaloupe were successively
visited. The islands of St. Kitt's and Nevis are
within sight of each other. The former, of which
the principal town is called Basse Terre, is of
a hilly, rugged character, but wondrously green.
One of the eminences I particularly observed as re-
sembling smooth green velvet, is called " Monkey
Hill." These animals are to be found in abundance
here. A mountain peak about 2000 feet above the
sea bears the unpleasant name of Mount Misery.
Moreover the fort and head-quarters of whatever
regiment may happen to be stationed here is placed
on one " Brimstone Hill." Disagreeable associations,
I think, accompany both these names ; yet, as far as
I could judge in my short visit, there seemed no-
thing to justify any complaints either of the climate
or fertility of the soil. Nevis is most remarkably
beautiful. The island appears to be composed of
one large mountain, rising from the sea to the sky
until its crest is lost in the clouds. It is supposed
that the present name of Nevis is a corruption from
" Nieves," the Spanish for " snow/' and that Co-
lumbus, who was its discoverer, called it " Nieves "
from the white clouds hovering round its summit
and giving it the appearance of being snow-capped.
The vegetation is peculiarly luxuriant, the mountain
side clothed with sugar-cane, while graceful groups
of palmetto, fern, and cocoa-nut trees detach them-

210 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

selves in dark relief against the paler hue of the
canes. The steamer anchored in the small bay of
Charlestown, a little place scarcely more than a
village in size, but which enjoys the honour of being
called the capital of Nevis. Montserrat, with the
singular-looking rock near it called Kedonda, was
next touched at, but here we did not land. A few
hours after brought us to Antigua, where we anchored
in what is called English Harbour. The general
character of the scenery to be distinguished from
this point is not at all un-English, no palms or
other essentially tropical plants being visible, and
the shore being rather flat. There are two small
forts opposite to each other commanding the entrance
to the harbour. These forts are respectively named
Fort Charlotte and Fort Berkeley. I was in hopes of
meeting with the Bishop of Antigua and Mrs. Davis,
who came out with us in the (e Parana" from England,
and who wished us to pay them a visit in the course
of our peregrinations. But I heard that at present
they are staying at St. John's, the cathedral town
of Antigua, which is about twelve miles off, and
consequently too far to enable us to go there and
return before the " Conway " resumes her voyage. I
hope, however, on pur way back to be able to devote
a day to them. We left Santa Maria de la Antigua,
to call it by its real full-length designation, at dusk,
and the next morning at seven o'clock found our-

GUADALOUPE — BASSE TERRE. 211

selves in the roadstead of the French island of
Gruadaloupe. Being very anxious to see both the
colonies belonging to France in the Caribbean seas,
or as much of them as was practicable, I took the
opportunity of the first boat bound for the shore
to place myself in her, and landed at Basse Terre.
It is curious to observe how, in spite of difficulties
or obstacles, natural or otherwise, the French always
manage to give a sort of Parisian air to whatever
town or place they may occupy. The first object
which met my gaze on landing was something very
much resembling a boulevard, — a long street going
up a steepish hill to be sure, but with formal rows
of trees at each side of the way. That the trees
happened to be palms and mangoes was a little
variety certainly, but there they were; there also
were the gaily decorated shops, the cafes, the little
marble tables and wooden-backed chairs. Basse
Terre, moreover, seems in all respects a cheerful,
flourishing, and very picturesque town. The houses
are mostly painted in gay colours. This practice,
when employed in a sunny climate and under a
bright sky like this, greatly enhances the beauty of
the outward appearance of ordinary habitations.
The Place d'Armes, where a parade was taking place,
struck me as very like that of Havana, only on a
smaller scale. I lingered for some time watching
the scene, enjoying the early morning air, and listen-

212 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ing to the merry strains of the regimental band.
We now proceeded to ascend the heights behind the
town, not a very easy task, as those boulevard streets
whereof I have before made mention are not only
carried up the steepest of hills, but are paved with
those particularly disagreeable sharp-pointed stones
or pebbles which make one shrink at every step.
But in due time we were amply repaid by the mag-
nificent prospect afforded us. The Souffriere, a
volcanic mountain of nearly 5000 feet, frowns over
the island and gives grandeur to the landscape,
while the numerous forests and groves of trees and
shrubs of every variety of hue, gently undulating
down to the calm blue sea, shed a charm over every
object; and even our old tub, i.e. the " Con way,"
looked well, or at least dignified, sleeping on the
quiet waters. The Souffriere keeps up a pretty
constant habit of smoking, and a few sparks are
occasionally to be seen ; but no mention is made by
the inhabitants of Gruadaloupe of anything like an
eruption. On descending to the town again we were
conducted into the house of one of the French
officials, I do not know who ; but we were regaled with
a most excellent dejeuner a la fourchette, partly
French, partly West Indian cuisine ; but most ex-
cellent and acceptable it was, hungry, thirsty, hot
and tired as we were. (Should I be fortunate enough
to number our hospitable Amphitryon amongst my

DOMINICA — ROSEAU. 213

readers, I hope he will observe, that although a
considerable time has elapsed, I have neither for-
gotten the incident nor his courtesy.) We now
re-embarked, bade adieu to Gruadaloupe, and towards
the middle of the day made Dominica. The ap-
proach to this island showed finer scenery, I think,
than any of those at which we have yet touched ;
stupendous precipices rise straight from the water's
edge, but in the interstices and clefts of the ravines
formed by them grows the most luxuriant vegetation.
I do not ever remember having seen such beautiful
ferns as are found here. Their variety seems end-
less. The town where the steamer calls to receive
and take the mails is called Eoseau. I believe there
is a small stream in the neighbourhood which gives
its name to the town, which, by the way, is rather
difficult of access. There is no harbour, and you
must land in boats across a surf which in any but
the calmest weather is both disagreeable and dan-
gerous. Roseau, and indeed, I believe, Dominica
itself, are not either of them in a sufficiently flou-
rishing condition to allow of the expenditure which
would be necessary for the formation of a harbour,
or the building of many other edifices which are
now wanting. There is absolutely nothing worthy
of remark in Roseau, the view and general aspect
of the surrounding country being the only induce-
ment to land. On the apparently flat summit of a

214 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

steep eminence called Morne Bruce, the little gar-
rison thought necessary for the preservation of
Dominica in the way it should go, or stop, is
quartered. It must be a dreary life for the soldiers
in spite of the beauty of the scenery. About eighteen
miles from here is Prince Rupert's Bay, also, I
believe, a very beautiful part of the island, but
which we had not time to visit. Here tradition
says that the gallant Prince Rupert died, and his tomb
is shown on the sea-shore.* Coffee seems to be the
most successful production of Dominica as far as
I can judge. We observed several healthy-looking
plantations, and were informed that the commerce
with the neighbouring islands, particularly the
French, in this commodity, forms a favourable con-
trast to other matters in general. Leaving Roseau,
a very short run now sufficed to bring us to Mar-
tinique, and we have just cast anchor in the Bay of
St. Pierre.

I fear we have been unwittingly the cause of
much disappointment to the good people here. As
we were preparing to get into the boat for the
purpose of going on shore, we were attracted by the
signs of an unusual stir on land, canopies being
erected, crimson carpets spread over the ground,

* This must be a popular error. Prince Eupert died in London,
but his brother, Prince Maurice, was drowned in these waters;
hence perhaps the mistake.

MARTINIQUE — ABSURD MISTAKE. 215

triumphal arches of shrubs and flowers raising
themselves on high from places where they had
evidently lain in readiness ; and lastly, multitudes of
people hastening to the water's edge all on the
tiptoe of expectation of something or somebody.
As we neared the shore and could distinguish the
countenances, we observed looks of blank disap-
pointment and surprise. The mystery was soon
solved. A new archbishop has lately been appointed
to the see of Martinique, and he was expected and
ought to have come by this month's vessel, and all
manner of honours and fetes, as I have said, were
awaiting him. But the ludicrous part of the affair
was, that, whether from the distance of the ship or that
the expectant multitude had no telescope, it appears
that at first they mistook me and my friend for the
bishop and chaplain, and only discovered their error
when our proximity showed we were women ! I
imagine this absurd quiproquo must have arisen
from the circumstance of our being both enveloped
in black silk mantillas instead of bonnets, and these
at a distance might have been mistaken for priests'
garments. It was too late, however, to undo in a
moment all that had been prepared ; so over the
carpets and under the arches we walked, and thus
made our triumphal entree into St. Pierre. I
must do the St. Pierreians, however, the justice to
say that notwithstanding their annoyance and their

216 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

having so much trouble for nothing, they showed
nothing but good-nature and the national good
breeding towards us, helping us and giving us all
necessary information to enable us to see as much
of Martinique as we could during our short stay.
The town of St. Pierre bears a great resemblance
to its sister city in G-uadaloupe, the same cheerful-
looking cottages, the quays bordered with trees, and
the streets have a similar boulevard look. Mar-
tinique has, I think, the advantage in general beauty
of scenery. It is, in truth, " with verdure clad " of
the loveliest hue. There appear to be more palm-
trees here too than I have seen anywhere since
leaving Cuba, and here they seem to grow up to
the extreme top of the mountains, and, as may be
supposed, much enhance the grandiose and majestic
appearance of the land. This island has ever pos-
sessed great attraction in my eyes, from being the
birth-place of Josephine, the cradle of her che-
quered life.* After our departure from St. Pierre,
and just as the day was declining, we came in sight
of the " Diamond Bock," a sugarloaf-shaped hill at
the extreme south of the island, and the scene in
olden times of many hard struggles between us and
France. There is a tale told of a naval hero (Captain

* Since these lines were written, a marble statue has been erected
to the memory of the Empress Josephine by order of the present
Emperor of the French.

CAPTAIN MORRIS — CANNON. 217

Morris) having swung up a cannon to the top of the
rock, and so caused wonderful deeds to be done to the
detriment of the French ; but it is a tale so oft told
about no end of places in this part of the world,
besides forming an incident in one of Captain
Marryatt's " veracious " novels, that I am inclined
to treat the whole affair as a fiction. So, with this
apocryphal anecdote, I shall conclude my letter now,
it 4 being nearly twelve o'clock, and I am going on
deck to see the moon shining on St. Lucia.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

2!8 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Barbados, Christmas night. — My dear Father, —
I have now reached the goal, and attained what, 011
leaving England, was the only object of my long
voyage, the place of abode of the friend I crossed the
Atlantic to visit. How far I have wandered during
these five months, and how little I imagined, on
setting out, the distance to which my tour would
extend ! My last letter was closed at the moment
we were nearing St. Lucia, the beautiful, but deadly.
We anchored for a few hours in the harbour of
Castries, the principal town. It is difficult to believe
that danger or death can lurk in anything so lovely.
I never beheld a scene more magically beautiful
than this, the moon at the time shedding her soft
light over land and sea. Yet the history is too uni-
versal and too often repeated to be false, which tells
us that fever, miasma, and death are the habitual
guests in this plague-stricken isle, which nevertheless
looks like what we may suppose the garden of Eden
to have been. Alas for romance ! the only real

ST. LUCIA — BAKE ADOS — CARLISLE BAY. 219

resemblance between, Paradise and St. Lucia is the
" trail of the serpent over all." Speaking seriously,
the plague of serpents, scorpions, and every descrip-
tion of poisonous reptile, is so deadly, that even I,
who am not easily turned aside from visiting or ex-
ploring strange or new places, have relinquished all
idea of landing at St. Lucia, though it will be day-
light on the occasion of our next visit. A little
before sunset to-day, the coast of Barbados was
clearly discernible, soon after we entered Carlisle Bay,
in which lies Bridgetown, the place of our destina-
tion. What an extraordinary and almost incredible
difference there is between the external appearance
of this and the island I have been describing to you
in the beginning of my letter ! The approach to
Barbados, it must be owned, is as nearly approxi-
mating to ugly as anything in nature can. Flat,
white, sandy, chalky ! This does not sound pictu-
resque, and it is still less so. In short, I was very
forcibly reminded of the Sussex shore near Brighton,
but without the town of Brighton to make amends
for the dreary rest of the scene. We anchored
about eight o'clock, and were, to my great joy, almost
immediately boarded by my friend's husband and
several other old acquaintances in the 36th, whom I
had not met since we spent the winter in the Ionian
Islands.

January 5th. — We have now been a week at

L 2

220 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Barbados, chiefly occupied in joining the festivities
incidental to the Christmas and New Year time. I
had always heard a great deal of Barbadian hospi-
tality, and I may very sincerely say that it has more
than equalled my anticipations. As I cannot give
you a detailed account of when and where each fete
took place, I must just note down dinners, rides,
balls, picnics, &c., as they come to my recollection.
But first of all I will give you a sketch of our abode.
A charming little yellow cottage, bungalow-shaped,
and raised from the ground by a few steps, but once
inside, no going up or down stairs ; all the rooms are
en suite.

Whilst sitting in the drawing-room, by the bye,
windows and doofs being always open, we are con-
stantly charmed by the visits of the most exquisite
little humming-birds, who dart through the room —
in at one window and out at another, like a flash of
lightning. The cottage is enclosed in a small but
very pretty garden or rather shrubbery, where grow
many a flower and tree unknown to us except in
hothouses ; one particularly, of which I have yet to
learn the name, serves the Creole ladies as a ball-
dress decoration. The leaves, instead of being green,
are a rich scarlet, and being of a very velvety texture
one can sew them on to a white dress, and thus make
an inexpensive, and, to a brunette, a becoming
toilette. Mrs. P. has come in Jaden with a complete

SPEIGHTSTOWN — NEGROES — PEPPER-POT. 221

garniture for Eleanor and herself, to be used at
Greneral Wood's ball to-night. We rode on horse-
back, a few mornings back, to a village called
Speightstown, about three miles distant, and re-
turned to be present at the parade of the regiment, a
ceremony which, as in the Mediterranean, afforded an
opportunity for the gathering together of all the beau
monde and otherwise. Speightstown seemed to me
to be only inhabited by negroes. I have seldom been
more amused than by this ride, the exceeding drol-
lery of appearance they all present, their talk, their'
impudence, the songs they improvise about yourself
while passing them. The way they set about doing
everything is so perfectly ludicrous, I could not help
fancying them a lot of baboons got up as a travestie
on men and women. Eeceived yesterday a letter
and cards from the Governor of Barbados, Sir W.
Colebrooke, and his daughters, apologising for not call-
ing in person, owing to illness of the former. With
this exception, I think we have already made the
acquaintance of the island. At a dinner party given
a few days ago, I tasted the renowned Barbadian
dish called " Pepper-pot," and think it well deserves
all the laudation it receives. I was rather surprised
at finding it was served hot, — I do not know why, but
I had always fancied it was a cold galantine sort of
edible. However, it is very good. It is made of
fish, flesh, and fowl, I believe — a kind of gipsy pot

L 3

222 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

au feu — things being added day by day. "
a condiment resembling Harvey's sauce and anchovy,
is a principal ingredient in flavouring the whole.
While on the subject of eating and cooking, I must
not forget to mention one of the greatest delicacies
in the West Indian cuisine, namely, " land crabs."
There is a regular season for them. They come in
swarms at one part of the year, and cross over the
land. They go over everything in their way, not
turning aside for houses, but go up the walls and
across the roof. Of course plenty are stopped on the
road and prematurely cut off from further prose-
cuting their travels. They are, when stuffed and well
seasoned, remarkably good eating.

4tth. — We had a brilliant ball last night. The
general commanding the forces out here, General
Wood, with his wife and daughters, were the hosts.
There was a good sprinkling of the navy, which
made a pretty variation with the red coats, also
several of the Barbadian families settled here ; the
rooms were beautifully decorated with cactus, ferns
and other tropical plants, which, together with
coloured lights peeping from the shrubberies
outside, heightened the beauty of the scene ex-
ceedingly.

10th. — Just returned from a picnic excursion at
" Scotland, " a part of Barbados about fourteen miles
from hence, which bears this rather grandiloquent

SCOTLAND — PICNIC SUDDEN STOKM. 223

denomination. I believe the name was conferred
originally on this place from its being of a slightly
mountainous or rather hilly character, besides being
the only bit of " scenery " of which poor Barbados
can boast. It is, however, remarkably picturesque,
a bluff headland of steep rock jutting out into the
sea. A path, or rather I should say steps, are hewn
in this rock, in the crevices of which grow aloes,
oleander, cactus, and lastly heather I So " Scotland "
is not such a misnomer after all. To descend these
steps to the sea shore, and thence enjoy both the
view and the fresh breeze, is the favourite passe-temps
whilst the chickens and champagne are getting ready
on the heathery sward above. The spot chosen for our
repast was under the shade of some fine cabbage
palms, with a view in the distance of Codrington
College, a sort of priests' seminary for Church of
England men, endowed by Colonel Codrington. Our
picnic was scarcely ended before unfortunately there
came one of those tropical storms of rain of which
Europeans have little notion. We had all to fly
wherever we best could at a moment's notice; and as
it was, some of our party did not escape a severe
wetting. Those who came off best had taken refuge
among the sugar-canes of a neighbouring field, which
from their height and thickness afforded tolerable
protection.

I think by this time you will be of opinion that
L 4

224 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

my letter is long enough, so I will close and despatch
it at once, resuming my adventures, perhaps, in about
a week's time.

Ever your affectionate, „
C.

COLOURED BALL — CANARY OR ROSE! 225

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Barbados, January 15th. — My dear Father, — Our
very agreeable stay here is fast drawing to an end.
The island steamer, which will convey us away, is
expected in two days more, so we are making the
best use of the short time that remains. We were
present a few nights ago at a coloured ball given by
the soldiers of the West India Regiment, quartered
here. They had invited both their own officers and
those of the 36th, with their wives and families. It
was a curious spectacle — at least it appeared so to me,
as I cannot yet familiarise myself to the sight of black
ladies (as they are very tenacious of being called) in
delicate-coloured ball-dresses. I was so amused on
the morning of this ball night at being called in
very mysteriously by one of Mrs. P.'s women-ser-
vants, who requested I would accompany her into
her bed-room. I went — and beheld spread out on
the sofa two wonderful dresses, one a canary-coloured
tarlatane with four flounces and a profusion of bows
of riband, and the other a deep rose-coloured silk,

L 5

ri26 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ornamented with green leaves. Between these two
" Lydia " begged I would give my opinion which
would " become " her best, and she promised to abide
by my decision. It was a grave dilemma ; however,
I decided in favour of the tarlatane, thinking black
and yellow would probably look better than black,
pink, and green. She seemed quite satisfied and
danced merrily in the evening, and I only hope she
felt convinced that she was the belle of the room.
Next day we took a drive to visit some friends resi-
ding at White Park, about five miles from Bridge
Town. Though there is, with the exception of Bar-
badian Scotland, very little striking scenery in the
island, yet the near view of the country is pretty
enough. There are flowers in profusion to be had
for the trouble of gathering, and I was tempted many
times on our way to White Park to jump out of the
pony chaise to load myself with the spoils of the
hedgerow. Jessamine and passion-flowers are the
most abundant. On our return we drove into Bridge
Town. There is little, however, deserving of note here.
The shops are poor-looking; still the contents are
better than those of the other islands, I believe. The
principal " place " is called Trafalgar Square, and
has a statue of Nelson, The Cathedral is a tolerably
good-looking building, and the Barracks of St. Anne
are large, well built, and provided with every comfort
required for the soldiers. They have only very lately

PLANTER'S ENTERTAINMENT. 227

returned to these barracks, as last year, in consequence
of both yellow fever and cholera breaking out, the
soldiers were all removed into tents on the high
parade-ground, and lived there encamped for many
months, until all was restored to its original healthy
condition in the island.

16th. — We have just returned from the last visit
to be paid in Barbados, as our time of departure is
near at hand. This excursion was to dine and spend

the day with the family of a planter, Mr. C ,who

entertained us at their country house. I have enjoyed
myself exceedingly. The amusements were varied ;
besides walking about the beautiful gardens, there was
dancing, swinging in hammocks, and floating on the
lake in small canoes. The dinner was given on pur-
pose to show us all the peculiarities of the best West
Indian cookery. We had callipash and callipee,
pepper-pot and land crabs, turtle steaks and hot
pickles, yams and sweet potatoes, and salad made of
the aguacate pear. Then for fruit, guavas, guava
jelly, pomegranates, sapotes, custard apples, forbidden
fruit, and the above-mentioned aguacate pears. I
have taken some trouble to try and obtain some re-
liable information as to how aguacate should be spelt,
but I am by no means sure even now that I have
succeeded. By some it is called avocado, by others
aquacada, and lastly aguacate. I have chosen this,
as, in the few instances where any attempt at giving

L 6

228 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

a derivation has been made, it was observed there
was something about water ; therefore, assuming the
derivation to be Spanish, " agua," being the transla-
tion of " water," is, I think, the more correct term of
the two. The English people, however, cut the Grordian
knot by calling it by the singular appellation of
" subaltern's butter." For this there is a reason, and
not a bad one. Butter is not very good and is very
dear in the West India islands, but this aguacate pear
makes a very good substitute, and at a very small
cost. The taste is very like ordinary fresh butter
in which a little oil has been mixed. Eaten with
plenty of bread it is very good, or made into a salad,
as we had it to-day, with a little salt, pepper, mus-
tard, and vinegar ; but it is far too rich to eat alone as
a fruit.

17th. — Took leave of hospitable Barbados and our
numerous friends. A parting compliment was paid
to us by the 36th Eegiment, whose officers themselves
manned a boat and rowed us to the steamer, which
was waiting in Carlisle Bay, while part of the band
followed in another boat playing " Should old ac-
quaintance be forgot."

20th. — Though now we have not on this our re-
turn trip left the steamer, it has been a great pleasure
to see again the fairy islands, for without exaggera-
tion they may well be called so. Their beauty does

ST. LUCIA — LEGEND OF THE PITONS. 229

not pall on the eye or the taste. Seen from the water
I am not sure that the littJe island of St. Kitt's should
not rank next to St. Lucia in picturesque and wild
scenery ; but it would be a difficult task, putting Bar-
bados of course hors de combat, for any one to decide
which particular one of the Antilles should be termed
the most beautiful. It being daylight on this occa-
sion, I was sorely tempted, malgre the serpents, to
invade St. Lucia, it is so wondrously beautiful ; and
the day more than fulfilled the promise of the night.
The two " Pitons," high sharp- pointed rocks, rising
from the centre of the land straight into the clouds
apparently, are most imposing objects. They are
said to be quite inaccessible to human feet, and, as
usual with any such natural phenomena, frightful
legends exist concerning them. The most generally
accredited story is that they are guarded by Py-
thons, alias boa constrictors, who deal summarily
with any one rash enough or unfortunate enough
to attempt penetrating into their fastnesses. Two
foolhardy English sailors are said to have furnished
the last examples. They departed, determined to
ascend " le Grros Piton," and never were heard of
more. However, all things considered, I used that
discretion said to be the better part of valour, and
can only indulge the hope that it is " distance lends
enchantment to the view." We entered the bay of

230 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

St. Thomas this evening, now become a familiar
scene. To-morrow we set out on our southern expe-
dition ; and as the " Parana" sails for England again
early in the morning, I shall send you this letter
by her.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

ONCE MORE UPON THE WATERS. 231

CHAPTER XL.

Navy Bay, January 27th. — My dear Father, —
After a voyage of nearly a week's duration, we
landed here about midday. Though but a small
place (in point of size, indeed, it is scarcely more
than a village), this enjoys the distinction of having
no less than three names : Navy Bay by the English,
Colon by the Spanish, Aspinwall by the Americans,
are the appellations severally bestowed on it. The
aspect of the town is singular. The houses look like
a collection of booths, or those cardboard houses
made for children's toys, into the very midst 'of
which, as I was contemplating the scene, came
shrieking and whirling the Panama train, with its
odd reverse-looking chimney, bringing back vividly
to my recollection the cars of the " blessed States."
We are about to bid adieu for a time to the Atlantic
and the " Bonnie Dee " here, and to try our fortunes
on the Pacific. As we have but a short time to spare,
I shall send you the diary I have written since
leaving St. Thomas ; meanwhile I must try and get

232 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

some information concerning things in general, con-
nected with our future movements. It seems very
strange that notwithstanding the pretty constant
communication which now takes place between the
two sides of the Isthmus, so little intelligence
can be obtained about the South Pacific route.
All that I can positively make out is, that the
steamboats bound for Lima and Valparaiso leave
Panama on the 7th and 21st of each month ; but
for all details I must wait till we are across the
Isthmus.

On the 21st of January we left St. Thomas at day-
light, a very high wind, almost a gale, blowing. In
a few hours we were out of sight of land.

24th. — We were aroused this morning before
five o'clock, in order to see the sun rise upon the
Sierra Nevada, and to enjoy the first sight of the
continent of South America. I could just discern
the snow edging the sharp summits of the moun-
tain chain ; but unfortunately the sun, although
generally rather too bright than too dim in these
climes, was to-day enveloped in vapour and mist,
and although he went through the ceremony of
rising, he lacked the brilliancy which usually dis-
tinguishes him. This Sierra Nevada is a branch of
the great chain of the Andes, and is called La
Sierra de Santa Martha, at the town of which we
arrived about 10 A.M., and anchored in the bay. I

ST. MARTHA — GRAND SCENERY — HEAT. 233

was both surprised and delighted at the magnificent
spectacle which met my eyes on going on deck. Not
having heard any one talk of or praise Santa Martha
particularly, I was totally unprepared for such a
scene. I think the voyage well worth the trouble
between St. Thomas and this, even were we to see
nothing else. Hills that without any exaggeration
might well be called mountains rise straight up from
the water's edge. The waves dash themselves in
fury against the rocky shore, whilst all around, far as
the eye can reach, peak rises above peak, of every
imaginable form, till they are gradually lost in the
clouds. Captain Parker allowed us time to go on
shore, and we took a walk all about the town for up-
wards of an hour. But there is literally nothing to
be seen in it ; even the cathedral was closed, and the
whole place seemed deserted. The heat of Santa
Martha surpasses all I ever experienced or suffered
elsewhere. After perambulating the town for as long
as we were able to endure baking, we took boat
again, and returned home to the " Dee," when we
gladly accepted the refreshment of some iced cham-
pagne and seltzer-water after our fatiguing excursion.
It is blowing tremendously, but I understand it is by
no means unusual weather on this part of the coast.
We proceeded on our voyage at sunset to-day, and
hope to reach Cartagena in the morning. We have
left at Santa Martha a large party who had made the

234 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

voyage from St. Thomas with us, — an English mer-
chant and his family, who are going to settle at
Bogota. They expect to reach the latter in eight
days. They will have several hundred miles' travel-
ling on the great Magdalena river, but I should fear
will meet many difficulties, as, besides a tolerably
numerous party in themselves, children, and servants,
they comprehend a small edition of Noah's ark,
horses, dogs, cows, sheep, poultry; also carriages,
carts, saddles, and bridles.

25th. — We did not, after all, arrive at Cartagena
until nearly five o'clock P.M., for although the wind
was fair it was anything but light, and the swell was
tremendous. I was not sorry for the delay, however,
as it enabled us to see by daylight what is generally
passed in the middle of the night, namely, the mouth
of the great river Magdalena. As I unfortunately
missed " the father of waters " in the north, the
Mississippi, being too " yellow-feverish," I am glad
at least to have the opportunity of beholding one of
the principal South American rivers. One would
hardly guess the Magdalena at its embouchure,
however, to be anything but a lake : indeed, it is
difficult at first to distinguish it from the ocean which
it joins. Our first view of Cartagena was just "in
the light of declining day." From the sea its ap-
pearance is very fine, and greatly reminded me of

CARTAGENA — MR. KORTRIGHT. 235

the appearance of Venice from the lagunes. In order
to enter the harbour of Cartagena a great detour
must be made, by which, to all appearance, the city
is left far behind. We steamed along a narrow
channel called the Boca Chica, or little mouth, and
after proceeding for about nine miles, but in per-
fectly smooth water, in an exactly contrary direction
to our previous course, we suddenly found ourselves
in the bay, where our good ship speedily anchored
herself. A very curious hill or mountain rises im-
mediately above this town, and is called the " Popa,"
from its resemblance to the prow of a ship. We
have not been able to see much of the city of Carta-
gena, as, by the time the indispensable preliminaries
were settled attendant on the arrival of the packet,
the mails landed, and matters in order, it was
sunset. We went on shore, however, and were intro-
duced by Captain Parker to the English Consul, Mr.
Kortright, with whom we spent the evening ; he has
a delightful house, with a gallery going round it,
whence one looks down upon the most refreshing
green shrubs and brilliant-hued flowers : and apropos
of hues, he possesses a beautiful and, I should think,
most valuable collection of birds all netted here, that
is to say in New Granada, of which republic Carta-
gena is the seaport, and Bogota the capital. It is
scarcely possible to imagine or believe, without see-

236 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

ing, the wonderful variety of shades and tints, shining
and sparkling like gems, on the wings of these lovely
creatures. I must not omit to mention also a very
magnificent preserved butterfly, which was under a
glass shade, ornamenting Mr. Kortright's drawing-
room table, measuring upwards of twelve inches from
wing to wing, of a glowing cobalt-blue colour, spotted
with silver. Our host has kindly volunteered to
show us some of the lions of Cartagena to-morrow
morning, provided the powers that rule the " Dee "
and her movements should be propitious and allow
us a few hours ; or if not, the engagement is to hold
good on our return next month.

26th. — We were obliged to relinquish our intended
drive into the country this morning, as the " Dee "
was up, steam and all, betimes, and we got under way
between eight and nine A.M. Wind still high, and
the swell great, but not quite so bad as it has been.—
To resume my letter. We have now located our-
selves for to-day at the " City Hotel," a wonderful
structure made entirely of wood, not thicker than
pasteboard. I do not at all fancy sleeping in such a
place, for fear of its catching fire. Nevertheless we
shall be under the necessity of doing so for one night.
We have just been introduced to a Mr. Stevenson,
the stepson of Mr. Cowan, the English Consul. He
is going to-morrow, and has kindly undertaken to

NAVY BAY — COLON — ASPINWALL. 237

chaperone us in our journey across the Isthmus. So
now farewell. I will, if all be well, send you a letter
from Panama. The heat here is intense, far greater
than we have yet experienced anywhere in the course
of our wanderings.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

238 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTEE XLI.

January 28th, Navy Bay. — My dear Father, — Al-
though I shall not send this letter till we are on the
other side of the Isthmus, I shall resume my notes
at once, partly for occupation's sake, especially during
this long day of waiting here. Shortly after the
despatch of my last, the signal for sailing was made,
and at length came the parting hour, when the
friends and companions of many a weary mile were
to leave us, and the farewell was spoken. I can
hardly describe to you the feeling of desolation
which we experienced for a short period as we
watched the " Dee " till she gradually faded out of
sight, then turned to find ourselves quite alone,
standing between two oceans and two continents.
Our solitary reflections were, however, soon uncere-
moniously interrupted by the clamorous tones of the
dinner bell, and being driven in to feed in a style more
than ever reminding me of the States. By the time
we reached the dinner-room we found the hungry
claimants had already nearly cleared the tables, and

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 239

very shortly after they had vanished from the scene
as well as the food, with a celerity which had some-
thing of the miraculous.

29th. — Embarked on the railroad, though in rather
a novel mode of conveyance, namely, the baggage
waggon. But it was Sunday, and the good Yankees
were too good to accommodate passengers with a car-
riage on that day, though they sent a luggage car ; but
then if they had not done that, sundry dollars would
have been sacrificed, and so they pocketed their princi-
ples to the extent of forwarding the " Dee's " cargo,
and also allowed us by a great favour, and in conside-
ration of our paying first-class prices, to sit on our
boxes in the said waggon. We preferred doing this,
however, and having the advantage of Mr. Stevenson's
escort, to waiting till the next day, and coming with the
crush of Californians who were expected to arrive by
the American steamer. The road is a narrow cutting
through heavy masses of damp rich-looking jungle,
with interminable forests spreading far and wide in the
distance, and all covered and interlaced with the same
sort of beautiful creepers and parasites we had so much
admired in Mexico. In about two hours we reached
a small " station " or settlement, consisting of two or
three small Indian huts called Caravali. Here we
left the railroad, which however is open some dis-
tance further (as far as Grorgona); but our chaperon
having his own boat, and always employing this

240 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

means of conveying the silver and " treasure/' as it
is called, with which he is intrusted by the company,
we embarked with him on the river Chaores.

o

During the delay which took place here while the
cargo was being shipped, we had an amusing scene.
The wildness and novelty of the whole affair induced
me to attempt a little sketch. First came ourselves
seated on a plank under the shade of a tree, then the
winding river, the odd-shaped canoes, and the all
but naked boatmen, some sleeping, a few working,
some eating, and others taking sudden plunges into
the water and diving like ducks. Close to ourselves
the occupations were still more varied. The extra-
ordinary-looking Indian women were several of them
cooking soup and other savoury messes on a very
primitive sort of batterie de cuisine, consisting of a
few sticks laid on a few stones, and a black mysterious-
looking cauldron crowning the whole edifice, out of
which pot-luck was doled to all suppliants by the
various artistes, — I cannot call them " fair," as their
complexions varied from a bright chocolate colour to
the deepest jet. But their costume was truly unique —
full-dress low bodices and short sleeves to their gowns,
their woolly locks hanging in wild luxuriance about
their necks and shoulders, and profusely ornamented
with natural flowers, beads, combs, gold and silver.
By way of variety, another group, composed of some
half-dozen people, were occupied playing cards as if

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 241

for their lives, so intent were they on their game.
These looked especially picturesque, as, in order to
shield themselves from the burning rays of the sun,
they had thrown a boat's sail over three or four
poles, and under its shade they had encamped them-
selves. I had begun to try and sketch with my
pencil a few of the principal points in this tableau,
when one or two of the Indians having perceived
what I was about, gave utterance to some exclama-
tions of astonishment, which speedily attracted the
whole community round me, and then ensued a
really laughable scene, which, I take it, quite exem-
plifies the vanity inherent in our human nature.
They all, men as well as women and children, began
to put themselves into what they considered the most
engaging and favourable attitudes, and begged I
would take their likenesses. At last, the boat being
ready, we embarked in it, and had a somewhat
tedious voyage up the river for five hours to Cruces,
which is to be our halting place for the night. The
mode used in navigating the Chagres, is poling, a
most laborious as well as slow proceeding, but I sup-
pose it must be the only feasible plan, as surely, were
another method practicable, it would have been tried
before now. Notwithstanding this disadvantage, it
must be owned that the scenery, and all surrounding
the banks of the river Chagres, is so wonderful and
so interesting in its own peculiar style, that were the

M

242 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

discomforts and drawbacks ten times worse than they
actually are, I think the voyage well worth the ex-
periment. The sun I must own was almost over-
powering : it is a wonder we did not get a stroke,
being exposed to five hours' unceasing blaze. I never
before to-day completely realised " the deep silence
of a noontide forest." * Far as the eye could reach
over hill and over plain, before and around, spread
the undulating but unbroken surface of the tropical
woods, looking like some vast petrified ocean (I was
going to say frozen, but the idea of ice in such a
scene would be too " far fetched "). Then the still-
ness, not a breath, not a sound was heard, save what
was caused by ourselves, and that was but little, for
it was too hot to talk or to move unnecessarily,
therefore the only actual token of life was the mea-
sured plashing of the pole in the water drawing us
slowly along. We had proceeded thus for a couple
of hours when we experienced an interruption of a
very curious nature, and which, owing to the incon-
gruity it presented to all that had gone before, will
not be speedily forgotten. Our boat suddenly stop-
ped at the entrance to a little creek, when there ap-
peared by the river side — a woman! with a child of
between four and five years old. One would have
imagined she had dropped from the skies, did the

» Disraeli, " Sybil."

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 243

inhabitants of the celestial regions dress in the style
of this lady ; but where on the surface of the earth
she did come from, was certainly neither to be seen
nor conceived. She wore a pale yellow dress of crape
gauze, or some equally light material, with several
blonde flounces of most elaborately designed patterns,
Over her shoulders was thrown a shawl, bright blue
in colour, and also of some light material, while
neck, arms, and head shone resplendent with jewels
(chiefly diamonds) and flowers. To complete the
picture, she held in her hands some articles of fur-
niture generally supposed to belong rather to the
bedroom than the public conveyance. I wish the
climate had been cooler. I should have so much
liked to enter into conversation with her ; but it was
too hot, and as she did not utter a word, I feared
that even if I tried Spanish, I should not be suc-
cessful as the patois are many and various. We
found ourselves equally lethargic when, a little later,
the boatmen darted quickly across the river in pur-
suit of an unhappy iguano, which they espied basking
in the sun. Having caught the poor victim, they
tied him up, fastening the claws behind the back, and
so carried him in triumph, preparatory to cooking
and eating him. In point of size, the iguano seems
to be midway between a large lizard and a small
alligator. The flesh is considered in these parts a
table delicacy. At length we reached our haven,

244 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Cruces, a villanous looking little place. On disem-
barking, we walked through the village, a collection
of tumble down log huts, till we arrived at our sleep-
ing quarters, the huts so called. Here I cannot say
we slept, but we passed the night. Besides the
agreeable sight of monstrous spiders, innumerable
in quantity, attached to the walls and ceiling of our
rooms, scorpions were more than suspected ; and to
crown all, we were gratified by hearing a mysterious
hissing during the whole night, which the next
morning we were informed was produced by snakes.
A pleasant and enj oy able residence certainly! Among
other discomforts we were starved ; there was abso-
lutely nothing to eat ; no bread, no fresh meat, only
some dried beef, which was totally unmanageable,
and there was not even chocolate ; but by way of
compensation, there was any quantity of claret and
brandy : so, although we were faint from want of food,
we were obliged to bear the deprivation as best we
could, and at ten o'clock on the morning of the 30th
we mounted our mules to accomplish the rest of the
Isthmus passage, a distance of about twenty-one
miles. From the different accounts I had heard
and read of the perils and dangers of the road, I had
gone fully prepared for no end of catastrophes and
adventures of all kinds, and consequently I was
really half disappointed to find so little need for all
rny powers of endurance. To begin with the road :

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 245

there was scarcely a single spot on our path to-day that
I would not have ridden even a good English horse
over ; and with our little Mexican steeds we should
easily have gone over the ground in less than half
the time it took us toiling and jogging on these
indolent mules. There must, however, be some
wonderful difference caused by even a day's rain.
We, with our usual good fortune in the way of
weather, have had nothing but i( plenty too much '"
sunshine all the way. And it seems impossible that
every one should concur in describing the difficulties
of the passage as so great, were there not some
grounds for apprehension. I remember, too, Lord
S. (whose correct and graphic account of the rest of
the trip has been most invaluable to me) mentions
that, at nearly every step, his mule got up to its neck
in a bog or quagmire of some sort. Certainly a very
different state of things to what we experienced,
everything being dry, parched, and burning. After
about eight hours' slow progress, we at length gained
the summit of a hill, from whence the broad Pacific,
the islands, and the beautiful bay and town of Panama
burst upon our sight. It would be hard to find a
more lovely view as it " shone in the light of de-
clining day."

3lst, Panama. — Our ideas of rest and peace, if

* A favourite Nigger expression.
M 3

246 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

we had any, were but rudely dispelled on arriving
here. We had been a little prepared during our
passage of the Isthmus, by encountering from time
to time some parties of frightfully uncouth and
savage-looking people (who all asked us an infinite
number of questions), for a certain amount of annoy-
ance and discomfort on a nearer acquaintance with
the Californians. But, alas ! the reality far surpassed
our imaginations. We had the ill luck to fall into
the cross tide of gold diggers to the number of up-
wards of 1600 savages just landed simultaneously on
either side of the Isthmus. No tongue and no pen
could do them justice ; their appearance was scarcely
human, and as to their manners, I must renounce all
attempts to give an account of them. One small
item I shall note down as being the first specimen.
On leaving my bed-room at the hotel, and coming
into the public (called par excellence the ladies')
saloon. I found tables, sofas, and floor covered with
bones, fat, and sundry other remains of food, which
the savages, whose shouts and whooping had been dis-
turbing me for two hours previously, had been de-
vouring without other implements than those al-
ready provided by nature, namely tooth and nail.
Fortunately I had a letter of introduction to Mr. and
Madame Hurtado (the latter is the daughter of Mr.
Perry, our consul here), and, thanks to their kindness
and hospitality, we are enabled to avoid the annoy-

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 247

ances of this hotel during the day, as we are invited
to take our meals and spend the day with them, as
long as we remain at Panama. But the nights are
unendurable; no sleep, no peace. Moreover, the
charges are positively ridiculous. For one wretched
little room containing a bed and a half, the half
being a bed without a mosquito net, which con-
stitutes by far the most important moiety in these
parts, one cracked water jug and basin, and one
looking glass, they demand the preposterous sum of
five dollars a night ; food, lights, &c., extra.

February 1st. — This morning we visited the
cathedral, almost the only building worthy of notice
in the town which is not gone to decay. It is a fine
old edifice, with some good specimens of sculpture.
There are many other ruined churches, convents, and
houses, all bearing traces of much past grandeur and
magnificence. But the great charm of Panama is
the scenery. All around, the bay, the sea, the sky,
the distant mountains, all is enchanting, far more
like the Greek islands than any other part of the
world I have seen since leaving them.

3rd. — We find that the steamer for the south does
not leave here until the 7th of this month, conse-
quently we have decided on going to the island of
Taboga for the time yet to elapse, so we shall go
there to-morrow. One very great pleasure I have
enjoyed since coming here, which has gone far to

M 4

248 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

make up for the disagreeables of the hotel. Every
night in walking back from Mr. Hurtado's, I have
paused to gaze on the Southern Cross shining in all
its splendour above us.

4th, Taboga. — On board the E. M. S. ship
Bogota. We have been very kindly received by
Captain Hall the commander of this beautiful
vessel, and allowed to take up our quarters on board
at once, instead of stopping on shore. I am greatly
pleased with this island, the air is fresher and cooler
than at Panama, and yet we have the beautiful view
of the bay and surrounding country. We went this
afternoon on a shilling expedition on the golden
sands of Taboga ; we picked up some beautiful and
rare specimens. The Pacific coast is very famous for
its conchological (if there be such a word) produc-
tions. Not very far distant are the Pearl Islands,
whence a considerable trade is obtained from the
pearl fishery. At Panama, I saw several very
curiously wrought ornaments, in seed pearl and
gold filagree, which had the advantage at least of
being very uncommon; also the famous Panama
chains of pure unalloyed gold, flexible as a blade of
grass.

Qth. — The Bogota returned to Panama to receive
the mails and passengers ; we have therefore come on
shore to spend the day with the Hurtados. We set
out on our travels once more to morrow. As I do not

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 249

know when the next opportunity of sending you any
tidings will be, I shall post this now here, and until
we arrive at Lima will write a journal of all that
occurs. In the mean time I am ever your affec-
tionate

C.

M 5

250 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XLII.

Panama, February 7th, 6 r.M. — We have just
quitted the harbour, my dear Father, on our southern
voyage ; weather fine, but excessively hot. A very
disagreeable incident occurred yesterday evening on
board this vessel, which has caused me great vexa-
tion ; a morocco travelling case of mine, which I
valued highly, not on account of its own worth, but
because it had belonged to my mother, was stolen
from my cabin. I immediately communicated the
intelligence to the captain, and since then everything
has been done which was possible to discover the
thief or get the case restored, but as yet without
effect. I have offered a reward of 100 dollars, and
no questions asked, if it is returned to me ; and Cap-
tain Hall, by my persuasion, has promised pardon to
the culprit if he will now confess ; or, as there might
be a feeling of shame connected with his comrades
were he to own he was a robber, a particular spot in
the ship will be visited twice a day, and if the case is
put there no inquiries will be made. In the mean-

PANAMA. 251

time the officers of the ship are told off- in different
directions to search the berths and quarters of the
crew.

8th. — They have got hold of a man who acknow-
ledges he knows something of my lost property, but
who is foolish enough to be obstinate, and refuse any
further explanation. As he bears a very bad cha-
racter, and is strongly suspected to be himself the
thief, Captain Hall has given him till midday to
confess what he knows or has done, and if he does
not before that, he will be put in irons. To my con-
sternation the foolish man has proved stubborn, and
consequently the threatened punishment has been
inflicted. We crossed the line at 7 P.M. this evening.
Heat very great, though perhaps not quite so violent
as I expected. The days are gone by now when
crossing the line was an event celebrated by a mimic
visit from Neptune. Now the fact was merely stated,
and we found ourselves sans ceremonie in the
southern hemisphere.

Wth. — I am happy to say that the prisoner has
made a confession, and, above all, that my case is
restored safe and sound. The reason, or more pro-
perly speaking the temptation, which he alleged
prompted the theft he has now disclosed. I had been
a good deal puzzled about this part of the business, as
I had not lost anything which would fetch any money
to speak of ; but it seems that, during the few days
M 6

252 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

we had spent on board the ship at Taboga, my pro-
ceedings had been watched, and by this means the
man had discovered that I was in the habit of keep-
ing my purse and a small box containing rings (one
of which was a diamond) inside the stolen case, and
these were the objects of his desire. Very fortunately
for me, however, he had not observed that every
evening, on going to dress for dinner at six o'clock,
I put the rings on my fingers and the purse in my
pocket, the latter because we generally played at
vingt-un every night between tea and bedtime ; and
from not having noticed this he abstracted the case
at eight o'clock. Had he taken it during the day,
both ornaments and money would then have gone, I
fear, irretrievably. As it was, the only loss I have
sustained is that of three or four very long letters
addressed to people at home, and which were all
ready sealed and prepared for departure, and these
the thief very wantonly threw into the sea instead of
the post. Very fortunately, your letter escaped, from
my having written it while on shore. But " all's well
that ends well," and I am pleased enough to have
escaped so well. The next thing will be to prevail
on Captain Hall to pardon and set free the delin-
quent, whose stupidity I think far exceeds his crimi-
nality. The idea of letting himself be found out,
when, according to the bargain, he might have
restored the case to me with or without making any

PANAMA. 253

explanation, and, unquestioned, would have received
100 dollars ! Now that my mind is easy on this
subject I can take time to chronicle an incident
which took place on the morning of our departure
from Panama, and which might have rendered it a
matter of indifference whether the morocco case was
found or not. Much against my inclination and
judgment, I was persuaded to join a party in a sailing-
trip along the coast and bay, and for this purpose we
embarked in a small cutter under the command of a
gentleman whose name I will not mention, but who
confessed he had never been in anything but a steam-
boat on the Pacific, and in this particular Bay of
Panama knew nothing of the currents, swells, or any
other peculiarities which might belong to it. This
was not the most agreeable intelligence we could
have received when about a hundred yards from the
steamer. With the rashness and foolhardiness of
ignorance, however, he proceeded to crowd every
morsel of sail he could get hold of on the unlucky
little boat, and, worse still, had fastened the principal
sail as if he had intended to show off an experiment
at the Polytechnic with manufactured perils. This
feat was scarcely accomplished when over we went.
What had exactly happened I know not, though I
can form a tolerably good guess. On emerging from
a most unwelcome dip in the sea, I saw a man with a
knife in his hand (he was a sailor, not an officer),

254 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

having cut loose the sail, my companion and myself
looking like drowned rats, the "commander" and
another gentleman looking very foolish, and a shark
looking very much disappointed. So after this the
rest of the party agreed with me it would be better
to make no more such experiments, and to be con-
tented with rowing quietly back. We had not pro-
ceeded long before we met one of the ship's boats,
which the chief officer, Mr. Davies, sent off to our
assistance, having seen through his telescope that
something was wrong, though we were too far to
enable him to distinguish the precise nature of the
accident. Now to return to the present. Before
midnight we entered the Guayaquil Eiver, passing on
our route a most singular island, called Dead Man's
Island, from the extraordinary resemblance it bears
to a dead person when laid out previous to burial.

llth, Guayaquil. — I had never till now realised,
as the Americans would say, what heat was. Some-
thing quite indescribable, and with it all the rain is
pouring in sheets. All about this territory, that is,
in the neighbourhood of the Ecuador State, it very
rarely ceases raining, while only about a hundred
miles further down the coast it never rains at all. We
went on shore and dined with the English consul and
his family (Mr. Cox), having previously walked about
the town and looked at the shops, which are not
particularly famous. The. celebrated hats called

PAYTA — LOBOS ISLANDS. 255

par excellence Panama, are all manufactured here.
Guayaquil is also very celebrated for grass ham-
mocks, woven with all sorts of pretty colours. I pro-
cured one of these as a souvenir. I must not forget
to notice a production in which I imagine no other
place in the world could vie with Guayaquil, namely,
mosquitoes. I shall never forget the martyrdom I
suffered during dinner ; my neck, shoulders, arms, and
feet are covered with stings . as if I had the measles.
Owing to the unfortunate thickness of the atmo-
sphere we could not distinguish Chimborazo. We
saw the dim outline of the Andes, however, and shall
hope to have better fortune another day with Chim-
borazo, as in tolerably clear weather it is always
visible from Guayaquil. En revanche for not seeing
him, we enjoyed some ice at dinner brought that
morning from his snowy peak.

12th. — Took our departure from Guayaquil very
early this morning, rain pouring in torrents: passed
again Dead Man's Island, and were still more struck
with its strange form.

13th. — Touched at Payta, where, as the steamer
was before her time, we remained some hours. We
went on shore, and paid a visit to the consul, Mr.
Blacker. This is a most deserted looking spot — no-
thing but sand hills, and a few houses, sand coloured,
to be seen; nevertheless, it is I believe in a more
nourishing condition than it looks. From the ap-

256 WANDEEINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

pearance of the sky, the inhabitants were rather
anticipating a shower of rain — a luxury they had
not enjoyed for nine years ! We did not stay long
enough to know whether their wishes were gratified
or not.

14th. — At sea all day. Very early in the morn-
ing we passed the Lobos islands, of parliamentary
and guano celebrity. I used often, when skimming
over the papers at home, and the yarns they were
spinning about Lobos, to wonder where on earth it
was — little expecting I should so soon be on the
spot.

15th. — Called at a small place called Pacasmayo
— a very beautiful bay hemmed in by hills on every
side, and the giant mountains in the distance. Some
of our fellow passengers went on shore, and brought
back with them some most magnificent grapes ;
bunches which would have gained a first class prize
at the horticultural exhibitions.

16th. — Touched at Gruacho, another of the numer-
ous ports on the Pacific, and finally, about one o'clock
P.M., anchored in the Bay of Callao, a busy looking
place — flags of all nations, and vessels of all kinds ;
but the sky was dim and hazy. It is strange that,
although it never rains in this land of the children
of the sun, the sky is by no means generally clear ;
and I am told that the bright and cloudless blue, so
often found in other parts of the two Americas, is

PACASMAYO — CALLAO. 257

here a great rarity. We landed at half past five P.M.
at the railway station, which, like that at Navy Bay,
is built at the water's edge. To make up for the
thickness of the atmosphere when we arrived, there
was a beautiful sunset, all crimson and gold, making
even the sand hills and white rocks about Callao look
romantic. Twenty minutes' drive brought us to the
goal of our long journey, to Lima — the City of
Kings. As we were accompanied by some of our
shipboard friends, we proceeded on foot from the
railway station to the hotel. The station, I should
mention, was formerly an old convent, now trans-
mogrified into a more worldly establishment. The
first impression made by Lima, in the little we have
been able to see this evening, is, that it bears a
strong resemblance to Mexico. After walking the
length of a handsome street, we suddenly emerged
on the Plaza, and here I could quite have fancied
myself back in the Aztec city. The cathedral occu-
pies one entire side of the square, as it does in
Mexico — but the other three sides are much gayer
here. They are called portales, are ranged in
arches, and something like the Palais Eoyal in point
of gay shops and stalls, with all their wares spread
out in tempting array, and brilliantly lighted. We
have housed ourselves at Morin's hotel on the Plaza.
The other hotel which was most recommended is
quite full. There is a general rush from Callao and

258 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

elsewhere in these parts to hear Catherine Hayes,
who is to sing for the last time here to-night. She
is en route to California. We were fortunately able
to procure a box, and were soon gratified by hear-
ing the Barbiere, Miss Hayes of course taking the
part of Rosina. The opera house is pretty enough ;
still nothing very remarkable. But what was
singular, was the almost exclusive British audience,
so far away from home ! There are many mer-
chants settled here or in Callao, with their families ;
all of whom I imagine, attended on this occasion.
Then there are two or three ships belonging to our
navy, as well as the packet service. And each and
all of these furnished a quota of dilettanti, eager to
greet their countrywoman.

Having now safely landed, and established our-
selves for a time at Lima, I shall close this letter,
and hope to find an opportunity of sending it shortly.
I should not wonder if you received it via California,
as the communication is much more frequent that
way by St. Jean de Nicaragua, than direct from here
to England by Panama.

Ever your affectionate,
C.

LIMA. 259

CHAPTEE XLIII.

Lima, Feb. 17 th. — My dear Father,— The first day
of arrival at a resting place, however short that rest
is to be, I have hitherto observed, is always passed
in doing nothing. To-day has formed no exception
to our general course. After dinner we took a stroll
about the town, looked at the shops, and voila tout.
These are much finer than at Mexico ; indeed, they
are so pretty as to almost deserve the modern title
given to Lima, namely, the Paris of South America,
though I still prefer the old one, Ciudad de los
Keyes, "The City of Kings." I have discovered
another great resemblance in Lima to Valetta, as
well as Mexico. The Peruvian and Maltese systems
of building covered balconies, chiefly of glass, out-
side every house, cause a striking similarity in the
appearance of the two cities. The churches here
are beautiful ; we entered one, and were told it was
" La Merced." Some very rich carving round several
of the altars, and the exterior architecture very fine.
18th. — Walked to one of the public promenades

260 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

this evening, called the Alameda del Aepo. These
Alamedas, wherever one meets them, all bear a strong
family likeness one to another, whether at Havana,
Mexico, Lima, or elsewhere: the same broad avenue
for carriages, flanked by two narrower ones for
equestrians and foot passengers ; the only difference
being in the description of trees with which they are
planted. In this last respect Havana must literally
bear the palm, as there one at least of the paseos is
formed by palm trees, those fairest of the fair in wood-
land scenery. On our way we crossed the bridge
over the Eimac, the river, or stream which waters
the city, and from which its present name of Lima is
said to have been derived, or rather corrupted. From
this bridge ; the view is, or should be, a very beauti-
ful one ; but it is seldom clear, a sad drawback.

1 9th. — Mr. Went, to whom I had brought a
letter of introduction, sent his carriage, and we took
a drive to the Valley of Amancaes, about three miles
off. The same dull heavy sky above us, though the
air was mild and soft. It really is difficult to believe
that it never rains here. All this afternoon, had I
been anywhere else, I should have pronounced a
drenching shower as quite inevitable. Yet not a
drop came, and none ever falls : that point all
agree in nem. con. But some go as far as to say
the sun never shines : this must be a little exag-
gerated ; indeed, during the day, we have had a good

LIMA. 261

deal : but sunshine without a cloud would be, I sup-
pose, the miracle. I only wonder how the ancient
people of the country came to be sun-worshippers,
in a land where they saw him so little. From Aman-
caes the view of Lima is most imposing. Its num-
berless domes and towers, rising from the Pacific,
lying peacefully beyond, reminds me of Byron's
lines, speaking of Venice : —

" She looks a sea Cybele fresh from ocean,
Rising with her tiara of proud towers ;"

the strip of land intervening between Lima and
Callao not being visible at this distance, and con-
sequently Lima looks as if, like Venice, she rose
from the waters. The valley of Amancaes itself
is a most singular-looking spot, seemingly the bed
of an extinct volcano, a wild sterile sort of plateau,
surrounded by rocks and hills of lava of every sort
of grotesque shape, not a shrub nor a blade of grass
to be seen. Then the deathlike stillness of the air
was something awful ; not a sound to be heard. I
could almost have fancied myself out of the world,
and looking upon it. They say, however, that once
a year, in the month of June, Amancaes bears a
different aspect. On or about the festa of St. John,
namely the 24th of June, there suddenly spring
up in this desolate spot thousands, millions of golden
coloured lilies! This savours rather of the mar-

262 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

vellous, but still they say it is true, and that so
suddenly does this change occur, that what is left
over night a parched and blackened desert, is found
in the morning clothed in gold. We fancied as the
sun began to set on our return (by the bye, he just
blazed out for about five minutes, in time to allow
him to make a decent exit), we thought we could
just descry the peaks of the Cordillera. I do hope
we shall have one good view of them before leaving.
20th. — Visited some of the churches, accompanied
by Mr. Pearson, the English clergyman. San
Domingo and the cathedral are both handsome-
looking buildings, but unfortunately there is not
much reality in either of them. This, however, is
inevitable, as they dare not build above a certain
height with any material more solid than reeds and
stucco, the earthquakes are so frequent. One which
occurred here about three weeks ago has nearly
shaken off the cross erected on one of the domes
of the cathedral, and it now stands all awry. In
one of the side chapels of this last-named edifice
there is a shrine of carved cedar wood, the most
beautiful specimen of workmanship I think I ever
saw; so fine and delicate that at first I imagined
it was ivory: indeed, even on a nearer inspection,
it more resembles ivory, the wood being of a sort
of pale cream colour ; and this was carved into
wreaths, garlands, and festoons of flowers, inter-

LIMA. 263

twined one with another in the most marvellous
manner. The high altar and some few other parts
of the church are still decorated with silver columns
and balustrades; but, like everything else in this
part of the world, sadly shorn of its former splendour,
and fast hastening to decay. Pizarro is said to be
buried under the altar here. Strange that doubt
should exist on such a subject, and I must own,
even against my favourite Spaniards, that it speaks
badly for their national gratitude, that the last
resting-places of the two men to whom they owed
the discovery of North and South America, Chris-
topher Columbus and Francesco Pizarro, should be
almost unknown; yet where their tombs are most
generally supposed to be, the one in Havana
and the other here, the small memorials that exist
should be such wretched ones. Here there is more
excuse, as they have renounced their allegiance
to Spain, and consequently they view Pizarro's
memory with no friendly feelings ; but at Havana
the case is different, and to Columbus they should
erect a more noble monument.

2lst. — Did not go out ; received a few visits. Lima
is suffering much at this time from an epidemic
they call peste, and nearly every house has some
sick people in it, rendering everything very triste,
and the few who are well have all gone to Chorillas,
a little bathing place a couple of leagues from the

264 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

town. This peste appears to be a mild sort
of yellow fever, and has never appeared before in
Lima, which is generally reputed to be a most
healthy part of the world, and certainly has a most
delightful climate, at least to my taste. The air is
warm without burning, and very soft.

22nd. — I have for the last two days been making
what I fear will turn out fruitless efforts to accom-
plish an expedition to Pachocamac, to see the ruins
of one of the great temples of the sun. The distance
is but twenty-one miles, yet such is the indolence
of the people, that if it were one hundred, they
could not make more difficulties; to begin with,
they maintain that not less than three days are
necessary for the excursion, which really seems quite
ridiculous for so short a distance. 'However, it is
no use contending any more, and so we must put
up with riding out to-morrow and seeing some lesser
ruins which are more come-at-able. We are fortunate
enough to be given a passage down to Panama in
the Virago, through the good-nature of Captain
Marshall her commander. The advantages are many
in this arrangement. First, the Virago does not
leave till Saturday, a day later than the mail steamer,
thus giving us a little more time to spend here;
then we shall avoid the numerous little ports along
the coast, which we have already sufficiently visited ;
and lastly, we hope to go into the Bay of San Miguel,

LIMA. 265

the starting point of the Darien passage, and pro-
jected canal, and this vessel contains the members
of the far-famed Darien expedition.

23rd. — Visited the church of San Pedro this morn-
ing, which, though the last, is the handsomest we
have yet seen ; the wood carvings in the side chapels
are exquisite, and there are also some very tolerable
pictures. We had previously gone to the museum,
but it is a very poor affair, the only objects of any
interest being a collection of the portraits of the
Incas, from the two first children of the sun, Manco
Capac and his wife, down to poor Atahualpa. It is
of course to be conjectured that the artists have
drawn chiefly on their imaginations, as it must be
very doubtful that the Incas ever sat for their
pictures. There are also a series of paintings re-
presenting the Spanish viceroys, beginning with
Pizarro. Besides the portraits, I should mention
three or four frightful looking mummies which are
said to be the actual remains of some of the Incas of
Peru, but the museum can boast of nothing more.
I am rejoiced to say that we had this afternoon a
superb view of the Andes in all their majesty and
brightness. We stood on the Eimac bridge, and
clearly traced the long outline of snowy peaks ; so
that hitherto unsatisfied desire is now accomplished,
and off my mind. Passed the evening at the house
of a lady to whom I was introduced by a mutual

N

266 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

friend, and who is universally talked of as "Mrs.
Smith of Lima." I suppose it must be from her
generous and universal hospitality; but to visit the
" City of Kings " and not know Mrs. Smith, " would
argue yourself unknown," besides being a serious per-
sonal privation. She has a charming house filled with
curiosities and rarities of all descriptions ; but above
all she possesses the most astonishing and varied
collection of extraordinary plants and flowers. She
very good-naturedly gave me some rare specimens
of both flowers and leaves to preserve. The most
singular flower in her possession is one named " El
Espiritu Santo" (the Holy Spirit), of the Orchid
species. It is pure white, and in form nearly the
exact counterpart of a dove. I am told the plant
is exceedingly rare, not above two or three specimens
being in existence. At Mrs. Smith's house also was
the celebrated Madame Ida Pfeiffer, the female tra-
veller, a quiet mannered and still more quiet featured
little person. Physiognomy is decidedly at fault
sometimes. No one would guess, to look at this
lady's impassive and rather expressionless countenance,
that she either had braved or was likely to brave
the dangers many and great of which she gives so
graphic an account in her (f Voyage round the
World." She is now about to undertake a journey
in search of the source of the Amazon. The various
governments whose territories she explores, it must

LIMA. 267

be stated to their credit, give her every assistance
that lies in their power, though that is often un-
availing with some of their savage subjects. Madame
PfeifTer has a son living at Munich, a doctor by
profession, and a great amateur of botany and

mineralogy. Mrs. S tells me that, repeatedly,

on being offered various substantial recompenses
for the benefits she has conferred by her useful
discoveries and explorations, Madame Pfeiffer has
refused any other guerdon than a plant or some old
stones for the purpose of enriching the museum of
her beloved son. We tasted this evening a liqueur
called (( Italia," made in Peru from a grape originally
brought from Italy ; hence the name. Notwithstand-
ing which, the taste is most decidedly whiskey-ish.
Barley must, I am sure, be partly used with the
grape in its manufacture.

23rd. — Employed this morning in shopping. The
ancient palace of Pizarro is now, alas! converted
into a Parisian looking "Passage," called by the
modern Peruvians " Portales." Here vendors of
of ponchos, gold and silver filigree work, sweet-
meats, and other luxuries do congregate. The
ponchos are generally handsome ; they are made
of the Vicuna wool, soft to the touch and brilliant
in hue, but not equal in my opinion to the Mexican
" serape." At 4 p. M. we mounted our horses. Took
a circuitous kind of ride for the purpose of exploring

N 2

268 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

several ruins; these mostly appear to have been
temples to their divinity, or fortresses, each group
of buildings being more or less surrounded by walls
of the Cyclopean order. The great charm attaching
to ruins in the old world, the Greek or the Eoman for
instance, is wanting here, I mean the broken column
or "noble arch in proud decay." The constant
dread of earthquakes causes everything intended to
last to be built low and with a view to durability
and solidity rather than beauty. One of our party
to-day who has seen both, gives us the consolatory
assurance that the ruins of the temple of the sun
at Pachacamac are neither more extensive nor in
better preservation than these.

24th. — Mounted again early this morning, on an
excursion to Chorillos, about nine miles distant.
This is the fashionable bathing place of Lima ; and
whither at the present moment all the inhabitants of
the city have flocked, in order to be out of the way
of the peste, and to enjoy the air, which is said to be
purer and also cooler than at Lima. This last ad-
vantage may be the case, but it does not look so ;
indeed I never saw so apparently hot a looking
place. A collection of huts all white, the rocks
white, the ground under foot white, and the sea a
burning blue. However, we spent the morning here,
and saw the process of bathing. The people of
both sexes go into the water together equipped in a

LIMA. 269

kind of bloomer costume. The dressing rooms are
singularly constructed. A number of them stand on
the beach, and really resemble a miniature town.
They are built of reeds, and are grouped in clusters,
forming a complete labyrinth. Each little cell is
provided with the requisite linen, and articles neces-
sary to the toilette. In returning, we varied our
route, passing through Miraflores, another, but inland
watering place; this, however, is green and fresh
looking, and I should think a much pleasanter and
cooler summer residence than Chorillos. Since we
have been at Lima, we have had daily at our dinner
table the most delicious potatoes. The potato, if I
remember rightly, is by origin a native of Peru. I
have never anywhere met with any approaching
these in flavour. It shows that cultivation does not
always improve, though as in this case, it may enlarge.
'The Peruvian potatoes are small, not much exceed-
ing a walnut in size, and of a bright yellow colour —
very meally, and, as I have said, most excellent.
They are served up as the centre dish of the table,
ranged in a pyramid shape.

25th. — Bade farewell to Lima at seven o'clock
this morning, taking the early train to Callao, where
we found a boat from the Virago awaiting us, in
which we immediately embarked, and in a few
minutes were alongside of the pretty little steamer.
Captain Marshall had invited the commander of the

N 3

270 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Trincomalee, Captain Houston,, to join us at break-
fast before we sailed. Callao * was looking far gayer,
and in all respects more attractive, than on the day
of our arrival. This is somebody's birthday, too,, so
the ships are dressed in all their gay colours. About
ten o'clock the signal was given, and we were " off,
off and away." Finding myself again on board a man
of war, recalls to my mind the cruises in the Bay of
Naples which I took some years back, when the
English and French fleets had gone there to bully
poor King Bomba. Thfe Virago is a pretty neat
little vessel, carrying six guns. She bears as her
motto on a conspicuous part of her (but not being
clever at nautical terms, I won't attempt to say
which), the words "England, Home, and Beauty."
There was some imitation of the ceremonies and
pranks which used of yore to inaugurate crossing the
line, on the day when this imaginary boundary
was passed. It was made a sort of holiday on board
the ship, and several of the sailors enacted a sort of
masque or play, dressing themselves up as Neptune
and his satellites, marine monsters, and a few terres-
trial donkeys closed the procession, which paraded
the decks for a considerable time, and saluted the
captain and officers.
March 5th. — Anchored once more at Panama,

* I have abstained from alluding here to the hero of Callao, the
late Lord Dundonald ; for who in England can need to be reminded
of one who, perhaps, unsurpassed even by Nelson, was equalled only
by the victor of the Shannon, the late Sir Philip Broke ?

LEGEND OF DEAD MAN'S ISLAND. 271

after a week's steaming from Callao — a pleasant
voyage, delightful companions, in short, every thing
couleur de rose. On our way, we lay for a few
hours off Guayaquil, near the Dead Man's Island.
I have now heard another version of the derivation
of this name, which is in Spanish, " El Enamuerta-
jado ; " namely, that some years ago there was an
intention of building a lighthouse on the island to
guide vessels in their course when near the mouth
of the river. Four men were accordingly sent, with
requisite building materials, and food to support them
for six months, by which time the task was to be
finished. In the meanwhile there occurred a " Pro-
nunciamento," or revolution, or at any rate a change
of government in the Ecuador State. Frequent as
these events are, one might suppose that the general
business of life would be carried on in tile usual
manner ; but if this tale be true, it would seem that
the disturbance in question had obliterated the recol-
lection of what had passed before. Time fled: the
six months elapsed, and no one thought of the poor
builders. At length a strange vessel on her way up
or down the Pacific, descried a signal flying on the
barren isle. She bore down upon it, and arrived in
time to hear the tale of misery from one survivor
out of the four. The rest had died starved to death,
and this, the fourth, barely lived to complete his
history, but sunk under the accumulated hunger and

N 4

272 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

exhaustion he had undergone. I cannot help hoping,
however, that all this is a mere legend of romance ;
and I am the more inclined to take this view of the
story, that the shape and outline of the land is so
unmistakably like a corpse enveloped in a shroud,
that it would seem amply sufficient to account for the
lugubrious name. I had an opportunity of observing
on this occasion, what, owing to our having landed
so immediately on our previous visit to Guayaquil,
had then escaped me, viz. the curious water con-
veyance employed by the natives on this part of
the Pacific coast, called " balsas." It is a strong-
sort of raft, lashed securely together, and carries a
sail when required. Au reste these balsas answer
the purpose of house, carriage, a kitchen, parlour, and
all." We were a good deal amused, while awaiting the
time of our departure, in watching their manoeuvres.
Several came round us, the occupiers trying to dispose
of their various wares, which included ponchos, straw
hats, monkeys, parrots, grass hammocks, fruit, and
flowers. I have been watching the concoction of a
shocking dose which the doctor is preparing for our
benefit in crossing the isthmus, which is at present
much infected with "the fever" so called, and which, if
it once gets hold of you, they say it is rarely, if ever,
to be shaken off. Dr. T.'s nostrum is a bottle of sherry,
in which he has infused such a quantity of quinine,
that it will demand a great deal of courage, both
moral and physical, to take his prescribed quantity,

PANAMA. 273

which is a wine glassful every five miles. This is
the native country of quinine, consequently it is pro-
cured here in alJ its strength and freshness. We
have just heard that, to crown our good fortune, we
beat the great mail steamer Sant Jago by three hours,
though she had twelve hours start of us.

6th. — Landed this morning, and to our great
regret, were obliged to say good-bye to Captain Mar-
shall almost immediately, as he found it necessary
to proceed to Darien (San Miguel) in the afternoon,
to render assistance if need be, to the exploring
party, from whom the last intelligence is very un-
satisfactory. The Indians are evidently determined
to resist to the death any attempt to penetrate into
their territories. They have already resorted to the
old savage expedient of shooting poisoned arrows
from ambuscade. Having taken leave of Captain M.
and the Virago's officers, we proceeded to Mr. Hur-
tado's, where we found a little daughter had been
born since our last visit. We were also equally
surprised to find Captain Parker awaiting us, he
having crossed the isthmus in order to escort us
back. I will now conclude this letter, having ended
our pleasant Peruvian journey, and safely passed all
perils in the Pacific. We must hope for equally
good luck, during the remainder of our travel on the
Atlantic. Your ever affectionate,

C.

N 5

274 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

CHAPTER XLIV.

Off Navy Bay, on board the Dee, March 1th. — My
dear Father, — This morning early we took our last
look at the beautiful Bay of Panama, which appeared
lovelier than ever in the beams of the rising sun.
Our ride this time was, if possible, even hotter than
when we traversed the same ground a month ago ;
but the beauty of the forest scenery and luxuriance
of vegetation is still the same, and yet still new. The
railway being now completed as far as a little Indian
village called Rio Obispo, we Were, by rather hastening
our mules and considerably heating ourselves, enabled
to perform the passage across in one day. We arrived
at Ri6 at half-past one P.M., having had a quick
broiling ride from Panama. I was partly amused
and partly shocked at the necessity of letting my
Guayaquil parrot be carried on the back of a negro
all this distance. The ground was absolutely scorch-
ing to the touch, yet the black bearer had bare feet.
He however did not seem to mind this, and trudged
on apparently contented. Not so poor "Lorita."

CHAGKES. 275

I am sorry to say she completely lost her temper and
every time her carrier hitched her cage up or down,
or otherwise deranged her equilibrium, she began to
swear most lustily all the bad words her Spanish
educational repertoire could furnish her. Luckily
there will be few in England likely to understand her
if she should commit any similar misdemeanors
there, as besides her bad language being Spanish, it
is provincial, and has a great deal of dialect incom-
prehensible to the world in general. We left Bio by
the train, and in three hours more we were once
again on board the Dee, where it was really pleasant
to find ourselves so heartily welcomed, and to see the
happy faces of the white people, and the grinning ones
of the blacks, as they all came crowding round us on
our arrival.

8th. — Early this morning the " Bonnie Dee " took
a run down to Chagres, a little bit of extra travel for
which I am by no means sorry, as it affords me an
opportunity of seeing a place now but rarely visited.
Chagres was formerly the starting-point for the people
bound across the isthmus ; they here embarked in the
little canoes and generally spent three or four days
tedious poling up the river. Now of course the
Navy Bay railroad has usurped all other modes of
transit. I have seldom, however, been more pleased
with the appearance of a place than I was with this,
partly I suppose from the surprise. I -had generally

N 6

276 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

figured Chagres to myself as a parched, sandy, un-
healthy, and perfectly flat part of the world ; instead
of which I found something as nearly as possible the
exact reverse of all this. We landed from a beau-
tiful little bay, quite land locked; and so calm and
still was everything around that we could almost have
fancied ourselves the first discoverers of the soil. A
short walk however brought us to the town, so called,
of Chagres. This consists merely of a few Indian
huts, the few establishments that once existed for the
temporary accommodation of travellers being now
either closed or entirely demolished, and the rest have
returned to their primitive simplicity. We next
ascended the heights and visited the remains of the
old castle of Chagres, once a great stronghold of the
Spaniards, but now left to the mercies of weather
and time ; a sad pity. There are some splendid guns,
most elaborately carved and ornamented, but all de-
serted and left to their fate ; also a cellar containing
no end of barrels of gunpowder, but all so damp that
a bonfire would fail to ignite them. The view from
every side was most beautiful, and we left it much
regretting that time allowed us so short a visit.
Before re-embarking we were shown another and
different scene, but a most lovely one, a green valley
and a forest walk, with a clear bright stream rushing
at our feet, and, above all, the warm blue sky and that

CH AGUES — CARTAGENA. 277

indescribable stillness in the air so peculiar to these
tropical climes, So farewell to Chagres. And now
we are once more upon the waters. We returned to
Navy Bay to take up the mails, and then finally took
our departure.

9th and Wth. — We have experienced a most violent
gale of wind during these two days ; moreover, it has
been all the wrong way, or what sailors call right
ahead. We were much rejoiced, therefore, to find our-
selves this morning, the llth, in the long creek, and
consequently smooth water, leading to Cartagena, at
which place we landed about eleven o'clock. Mr.
Kortright, remembering that we had not been able
to see anything of the place on our former visit, had
very kindly sent his carriage to meet us, and although
our time was still very limited, we had a very agree-
able drive all about the environs of the city. We
went to the fort of the Popa, and thus had an oppor-
tunity of examining it and its strange shape more
nearly. The building which crowns its summit is a
convent. We stopped often, to gather some of the
beautiful flowers which grow in wild profusion all
around. The town is handsome, and besides remind-
ing me, as I before mentioned, of Venice in the
distance, the narrow streets and overhanging roofs of
the houses on a nearer view recalled Genoa to my
recollection. About an hour ago we returned and

278 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

partook of luncheon with our hospitable host. I am
writing this from his house, so that it will bear the
Cartagena post-mark. The time is drawing near now
for going on board the Dee again, and to-night we
shall take our last look at South America.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

PORTO RICO. 279

CHAPTER XLV.

On board the Conway, off Porto Rico, March
18th. — My dear Father, — Since the date of my last
letter until yesterday, we have had a regular succes-
sion of gales, almost amounting' to hurricane ; the
first really bad weather (for any length of time con-
secutively) that we have suffered since our arrival
in the land of the West. We reached St. Thomas
yesterday morning at eight o'clock. All things much
the same there. Having transferred ourselves and
our effects from the Dee to this vessel, we had about
the time to make ourselves comfortable before sail-
ing. We are now bound on our last island trip,
Jamaica being our present destination. Early this
morning we anchored in the harbour of Porto Rico,
or I should more correctly say, St. Juan de Porto
Rico, that being the name of the seaport. But a
great disappointment has awaited us here. We are
not allowed to land, vessels coming from St.
Thomas being in quarantine, although the cholera
has disappeared from there now. They think it

280 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

better to be on the safe side. We are therefore
obliged to rest contented with what we can see from
the ship of the town and harbour, which bear a
most striking resemblance to Havana, only on a
smaller scale. It was very pleasant at all events to
see the dear old Spanish flag again waving over the
walls, though I fear this will be the last occasion on
which we shall meet with it in this part of the world.
We shall leave here at sunset; I shall therefore
resume my letter at our next halting-place, which
will I believe be Hayti. Meanwhile it is no slight
comfort to have calm weather after the storms of
the past week. ... . ...

19th. — We arrived in the Bay of Jacmel this
morning, and landed immediately, as we were
allowed a short time to stay. The island is now
more generally called St. Domingo, than by its
original name of Hayti. Whence this has arisen I
know not, as St. Domingo was a town so called by
Christopher Columbus, the island having been first
discovered by him on Sunday; but up to very
recently it has been called indifferently Hispaniola
or Hayti. The appearance of Jacmel from a dis-
tance is more prepossessing then it proves to be on
a closer inspection. Of course I speak only of the
town, which seen from the sea looks Babylonian ; that
is, laid out in terraces and hanging gardens, but turns
out really nothing of the sort, merely the accidental

KINGSTON, JAMAICA. 281

grouping of some trees within the walls. The
scenery around is, however, beautiful, as only the
Antilles are. The French claim for Hayti, the same
appellation as the Spanish do for Cuba, " La Eeine
des Antilles." Being here so short a time, and able
only to take a very superficial view of it, I am of
course unable to determine how far this may be
merited. Still I cannot imagine it can equal Cuba,
at least with its present semi-savage rulers. What
it might be in Spanish hands, to whom it certainly
legitimately belongs, is another question.* The Em-
peror Soulouque, the Duke of Marmalade, and the
rest of his sugary suite are at Port-au-Prince, so we
were not gratified with a sight of them. .

Kingston, Jamaica, March 22nd. — We landed
here this morning only, though we arrived last
evening, but too late to enter Port Eoyal harbour,
which requires daylight, or at least bright moonlight.
This is a pity, as I hear the view is fine approaching
Port Eoyal from the south. We are not going to
wait to see any sights here (if any exist) at present,
but have engaged a carriage to take us to Spanish
Town, about twelve miles off; whence I shall des-
patch this letter. . . 3 P.M. we have just arrived
here; had a very pleasant drive. There is a railroad

* While these pages are in the press, St. Domingo has actually
returned to its old allegiance, and once again belongs to Spain. Is
this the first act in the revival of the ancient glories of this once
mighty monarchy ?

282 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

for the benefit of people in a hurry, but as we wished
to see a little of the country, we preferred the slower
mode of progress. Our friends are staying in the
country, enjoying the mountain air ; but, fortunately
Sir Joshua Kowe had come into town this morning,
and so received us. We are to accompany him to-
morrow to The Cedars, his mountain residence.
Adieu now. This letter will go back by the return
steamer. Ever your affectionate,

C.

JAMAICA — THE CEDARS. 283

CHAPTEE XLVI.

The Cedars, March 29th. — My dear Father, -
We have passed a very pleasant week among the
hills ; the scenery of Jamaica is certainly very beau-
tiful, and I think grows upon one every day; at
least I find it prettier and finer now than I did the
first day. The verdure is perfectly wonderful, and
the view from the lawn of The Cedars, of hill and
valley all thickly covered with trees of every kind
and every variety of tint, with Port Royal in the
distance, and the sea bounding the horizon, form
a landscape one could scarcely ever tire of gazing
at. I think my chief admiration here in the way
of trees and plants are the orange and lemon trees ;
they are quite lovely. They grow to a great height
and in every direction, and with their profusion
of golden fruit, snowy flowers, and dark glossy leaves,
all in full bloom at the same time, make the orange,
in my opinion, the queen of plants. There is a
pretty place called Keith Hall a short distance from
The Cedars ; but higher up the hill side they command

284 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

a more extensive view, and one particularly beau-
tiful, of a chain of hills, and one especially called
Monte Diablo. I also observed some very fine
specimens of bamboo trees ; they are so very graceful
and fairy-like. There is a cluster of them on Sir
Joshua Howe's property that look exactly like a
gigantic bunch of Prince of Wales' feathers.

31st. — We returned to town yesterday. To-day we
paid a visit to Lady Barkly at Government House >
then went over the courts of justice and the House
of Assembly: nothing very remarkable in either.
Matters seem in a very bad way in the house,
and the Governor has a difficult and thankless part
to play. Quarrels "never ending, still beginning,"
seem to be the only order of the day attended to
vigorously in the Jamaican parliament. We went
afterwards to the cathedral, where the principal
object of attraction is the beautiful marble monu-
ment (by Baily) to Lady Elgin, who died in her
youth and beauty here during Lord E.'s governor-
ship of the 'island. The House of Assembly voted
a sum of £-300 for the sculpture, and the artist has
been very successful, both in the resemblance of
the statue to the original, and in the general design
and execution of the whole.

April ±ih. — Kode some days ago to a most ro-
mantic spot, though bearing a very uncouth name,
" the Bog Walk : " without any exception, the love-

THE BOG WALK. 285

liest and yet the strangest bit of forest scenery I
have met with in my wanderings. The principal
features in the landscape are the bamboo trees, and
on entering the particular glade called the (f bog,"
a most wondrous spectacle is presented to the view ;
the graceful branches of the bamboos, of which I
have before spoken, by some curious fantaisie of
nature, have entwined themselves and interlaced
each other over your head. The effect is a perfect
gothic arch, and as it is repeated and continuous
for a very considerable distance, one might fancy
oneself in the " long drawn aisle and fretted vault "
of some old cathedral. In the middle of this aisle
or avenue rushes a clear, bright, noisy stream, dashing
turbulently against stones, rocks, and other obstacles
that come in its way. Between this stream and
the stems of the beautiful arches there is just room
for a horse and his rider to pass. The name of
" the Bog Walk " is, I hear, an English corruption
of "La Boca," or some say, "La Boca de Aqua,"
meaning the mouth or river's mouth ; the little
stream I have mentioned being near the mouth of
one of Jamaica's many rivers. The island is greatly
famed for the number and variety of its woods.
Many were pointed out in our ride to day, mahogany,
satin wood, ebony, lignum vitae, &c.

lik. — Left Sir J. and Lady Rowe for an excursion
of a few days in the mountains. Drove from Spanish

286 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

Town to the terminus, and thence by the railway
to Kingston. We had here a fine view of all the
shipping in this harbour, as well as in Port Royal.
In the latter is the quarantine ground ; we noticed
a good number of victimised ships bearing the un-
lucky yellow flag. It is peculiarly unfortunate to
be detained here in quarantine, as Port Royal and
Kingston are considered the most, if not the only,
unhealthy parts of the island.

Hence we started for Newcastle, a distance of
fourteen miles, passing through " Up Park Camp "
on our way. This is a military station containing
a force varying from 300 to 500 men, according
to circumstances. During times of cholera, fever,
or any other trouble, Up Park is considered generally
to possess purer and healthier air than any on the
coast. About eleven miles from Kingston we arrived
at a place called the Botanical Garden. Once upon
a time a garden did really exist ; now there is but
the name. It is the limit to which ordinary shaped
carriages have access ; beyond it either two wheeled
vehicles, such as volantes, or gigs, or very narrow
carts, are the only means of passage by draught.
We rode on horseback, my old friend Col. Luxmoore
(who by a curious coincidence commands the de-
tachment of the 16th Regiment now at Newcastle)
having sent saddle horses for our use. We had a
pleasant and very picturesque ride during the re-

JAMAICA — NEWCASTLE. 287

mainder of the distance, and arrived at Col. L.'s
quarters just as the day was fading; found Mrs.
Luxmoore and my friend Cissy (her daughter) waiting
to welcome me. An hour after this we sat down
to a merry dinner, consisting chiefly of former friends
and acquaintances. The last time we met having
been in Greece, we little anticipated the change of
scene four years would produce.

8th. — This is the funniest little nook in the world ;
there is scarcely an inch of level ground to be dis-
covered far or near. The houses or cottages used
by the officers as quarters are scattered about in every
direction, above and below, some of them perched so
high as to be very difficult of access. The garden
belonging to this cottage of Col. L.'s where we are is
some forty feet above us ; all the dwelling-places
have this nest-like appearance. In this garden,
which when arrived at is remarkably pretty, grows
a natural curiosity, in the existence of which I cer-
tainly should not have believed had I not actually
seen it; namely, a green rose. There were three
blossoming on the bush, besides several buds. The
flowers were in all respects like the ordinary pink,
red, or white rose, the same soft velvety leaves, only
of a pale green colour ; in all other particulars the
plant was just like any other, the stalks, thorns, green
leaves, &c. I was allowed to gather one of the
three blossoms I had seen in flower, and have placed

288 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

it between the leaves of this book ; not that I shall
expect any one who may see it hereafter in its faded
hue to believe in its original one, unless they too
should have visited Newcastle and Col. Luxmoore's
garden. I shall close this letter now, or it will be

too voluminous.

Ever your affectionate,

C.

NEWCASTLE — JAMAICA. 289

CHAPTER XLVIL

Newcastle, Jamaica, April 10th. — My dear Father,
-—We made an excursion on horseback the day
before yesterday to the St. Katharine hills. They
are off-shoots from the Blue Mountain chain. One
might well fancy oneself in Scotland, or, I should
perhaps rather say, in Wales. The keen cold air (we
are about 4000 feet above the sea), the smooth green
grass covered hills, bear a great resemblance to the
scenery of some of our excursions among the Welsh
mountains and valleys. This, however, though very
healthy and beneficial to the troops after being baked
in Kingston, is the least pleasant and least pretty ex-
pedition I have yet made. It is too bleak and too
poor looking to be appreciated after the warmth and
the luxuriant vegetation we have so lately left. Next
day we made a far more agreeable excursion to Char-
lottenberg, the country residence of the Bishop of
Jamaica. I have rarely been so strongly tempted to
break the tenth commandment as I was on entering
this delightful abode ; that it belongs to a Bishop, too,

o

290 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

makes the enormity of my coveting worse still. I
thoroughly realised on this spot the poet's apostro-
phe to a yet very different scene.

" A blending of all beauties ; streams and dells,
Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, mountain, cornfield " —

the last word must here be omitted as the " vine " is
not one of the blended beauties in this fair scene.
Grapes do exist nevertheless in Jamaica, and are ex-
cellent-flavoured ; but the vine is not a distinctive
feature or characteristic of the country. It would
be difficult to single out any one particular class of
tree or plant in the rich and varied tract of country,
spread before us to-day, as an especial object of ad-
miration. When you have mangoes, cocoa-nuts,
allspice (pimento), olives, tamarinds, banana, oranges,
pomegranates, sugar, and coffee, all growing in lux-
uriant profusion around, you are too much dazzled
with the whole to be able to specify what is the most
beautiful. At least I found it so. Then besides the
wonderful scene of fertility I have been trying to
describe, the magnificence of the view can scarcely
be imagined from the terrace of Charlottenberg,
backed by the noble range of the Blue Mountains,
and bounded at the horizon by the azure coloured
sea. The house is in perfect keeping with the
gardens and other external belongings of the Bishop.
The rooms are spacious and cool. The floors beau-

NEWCASTLE — JAMAICA. 29 1

tifully inlaid with specimens of the various woods
grown in Jamaica; tables, chairs, and other furni-
ture of carved ebony. Having visited the principal
rooms, we proceeded to a little summer house, where
we took some refreshment, and gazed once more at
the enchanting view beneath us, through the medium
of stained glass of different colours, which is let in here
and there in the windows. To-morrow we are to set out
on the last expedition of any consequence we shall
make in this part of the world ; namely, we purpose
making the ascent of the Blue Mountain Peak. The
difficulties are great, I hear, and some of our friends
think the undertaking very hazardous. On the other
hand, I am told that with good courage and good
will to persevere, we can do it; and that, more-
over, Lord Metcalfe went up when he was an old
man, and suffering from the gout ; so under these
circumstances I think there can be scarcely any un-
conquerable difficulties for us. The actual height is
nothing'particular, merely 8000 feet, yet I understand
the chief actual inconvenience one suffers is from the
excessive rarity of the air, and the consequent
difficulty of breathing. I shall be glad, however, if
we should be ultimately successful, and reach the top
without any hindrance, as among other objects to be
attained, is a sight of dear old Cuba, which will
much rejoice me to behold once more, before taking
my departure from the west.

O 2

292 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WOULD.

llth. — We left Newcastle on horseback about 10
o'clock A.M. Our destination this evening being the
house of a Mr. Pownall, who resides at the foot of
the mountain, having come here many years ago, and
lived at his present abode ever since. From his
house I am now writing this. We passed over a
considerable part of the country to-day, which we
saw yesterday from Charlottenberg. Found a close
examination as beautiful in its way as the more dis-
tant one. The coffee plantations especially gain on
a near approach ; the perfume is delicious, and the
plant, whether in the flower or berry, is graceful and
pretty. An extensive estate, part of which we tra-
versed, was pointed out to me as having formed a
portion of the Duke of Buckingham's property in
this island. We reached Mr. P.'s "hermitage"
about 3 o'clock, and were welcomed by him with
much civility. It is a curious fancy that has led
this gentleman here. I understand he was formerly
a farmer, and lived in Essex (rather a contrast to the
Blue Mountain). Some accidental circumstance
having caused him to pay a visit to Jamaica, here he
has remained ever since, and has farmed his little tro-
pical estate very successfully. He calls himself
" the old man of the mountain," of which for many
years past he has done the honours to all comers.
We sat down to dinner shortly after our arrival, a
plentiful repast in the English style. A " distin-

ASCENT OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN PEAK. 253

guished dish," to my great amusement, being broad
beans and bacon. Our host thinks we may safely try
the experiment to-morrow morning, and he proposes
to accompany us as well as our present party, and
the regular guides. It seems the grand difficulty to
be conquered, is a place commonly called "Jacob's
Ladder," which people ascend as they can, there
being no steps and no path, and only at rare inter-
vals any terra firma on which to plant the feet. This
does not sound pleasant ; but we shall see what to-
morrow will bring. Our meal being ended, we
strolled out to look at the coffee garden attached to
the house. The trees are now in full bloom, of a
pale pink colour. The odour is most agreeable, very
aromatic. This is a very small plantation, Mr. P.
farming it for his own private use, as I suppose he
would turnips in his native Essex. What a differ-
ence !

12th. — Well, the Peak is a fait accompli, and we
are alive to tell the tale ; but it is an undertaking I
should be very sorry to attempt again, and one I
should not have pursued now to the end, had it been
practicable to return ; but this was impossible. I will
presently say why. Bttftooft Librwy

We started betimes in the morning, a party of
five besides the guides. For about two miles and a
half we rode on ponies ; and this, though compara-
tively easy work to the -rest of the journey, was in

O 3

294 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

itself rather dangerous ; at least we ran the risk of
our faces and features being disfigured several times.
A kind of track, it can scarcely be termed a path or
road, has been cut through the dense tangled masses
of vegetation with which the sides of the mountain
are clothed ; but as the visits of strangers to the
Peak are few and far between, the prolific soil allows
of considerable growth of branches, leaves, and
parasite creepers of all descriptions in the intervals
between the times of cutting the track. To day, as
we were all obliged to advance in single file, and our
ponies were chiefly anxious to follow each other
without troubling themselves about their riders, we
were repeatedly caught, sometimes across the eyes,
sometimes across the mouth, and last and worst,
under the chin, narrowly escaping strangulation, by
the boughs and tendrils of the trees and their para-
sites, interlacing each other across our path. For
my own part I speedily found my only chance of
safety lay in leaving my pony to his own devices,
and providing for myself as well as I could. So,
quickly twisting my bridle round the pommel, I laid
myself as flat down as I could, on the neck of my
gallant steed, and extended my legs towards his tail ;
and in this interesting Mazeppa-like attitude (which
would have made my fortune at Astley's) was ac-
complished the remainder of the equestrian portion
of our course. We now had to proceed on foot, and

JACOB'S LADDER, 295

for about a mile or so we found the ascent no very
formidable task — stumbling over the stumps of old
trees, and entangling oneself in briars, being the
worst catastrophes to speak of. Soon, however, oc-
curred a change, of which the first symptom was
want of breath, and a necessity of stopping every
few steps, to try and recover it. The cold, too, now
became intense. Just before reaching the terrible
Jacob's Ladder, at a sudden turn of the path, a
splendid view burst upon our sight, and with which
I heartily wish we had contented ourselves, and
advanced no further. From the pinnacle on which
we were perched, we seemed to look straight down
several thousand feet, and where the orange trees
apparently dipped their branches into the clear bright
waves beneath. This, however, was an optical delu-
sion— the projection of the land giving the branches
the appearance of touching the water, though in
reality some hundred feet above it. Finally, at the
edge of the horizon could be just faintly traced the
outline of the Cuban coast, and the highland near
Sant Jago de Cuba. I understand now whence the
name of Jacob's Ladder is derived. This is to all
intents and purposes a road through the air, the
mode of progress being catching hold of branches of
trees, and by their means swinging or hoisting your-
self up, till you find a resting place, or perch for the
sole of your foot, on some bough or stump, and so

296 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

on ad infinitum. For a few yards we got on toler-
ably, though the fatigue was something beyond con-
ception, for it is scarcely ever possible to be helped
by any other person, as each one is generally on a
different level. I would have gladly now abandoned
the project, but to retrace one's steps on Jacob's
Ladder, is an impossibility. One may get up, one
cannot get down these aerial steps. Exhaustion, cold,
and the painful gasping for breath, from which we
were now suffering, made it very problematical
whether we could move another step. Brandy and
milk (a curious concoction) was now administered,
at least so it was said to be ; but I was past all power
of tasting, or even of knowing any thing crossed my
lips. I can only suppose the instinct of self-preser-
vation impelled us onwards, as we did eventually
reach the summit. Here I must have lost all con-
sciousness, for on coming to myself, I found I was
seated on the ground, in a little log hut, before a
blazing fire ; two people chafing my hands, which
were turned almost slate colour, and a third trying
to insinuate a glass of wine between my lips, which
they informed me were of the same beautiful hue.
E. told me she had been in much the same plight,
but had recovered more quickly. The shelter from
the keen air, and the cheerful warmth of the fire,
gradually restored us to our natural feelings and com-
plexions, and then we were not long in discovering

ST. THOMAS. 297

that we were in a state bordering on starvation ; so
we very soon set to, with right good will, to demolish
the excellent luncheon our host had provided. We
then proceeded to look at the prospect we had in-
curred such hardships in trying to see. I was not a
little provoked at finding it in nearly all respects the
same as we had enjoyed at the foot of Jacob's Ladder.
Soon after this we commenced the descent, but not
by the same route. I -should have thought we might
have gone up by the road we came down, but they
tell me it would have been impossible, so I take it
upon trust, as I certainly shall not make the experi-
ment. We reached the hermitage safely, though
terribly tired.

13th. — Much refreshed from a good long night's
rest. Said good-bye to the hermit, and rode back to
Newcastle, where we found our friends much asto-
nished to hear we had actually accomplished the
ascent, they having believed we should take alarm at
the last moment.

20th, St. Thomas. — We sail for England at mid-
night. Since writing the foregoing last pages we
returned to Spanish Town and were enabled to spend
two pleasant days with Sir J. and Lady Rowe, whom
we left with much regret. This is the fifth visit we
have paid to St. Thomas since we left home. Still,
in my opinion, it is as pretty and as green as ever.
I shall always keep a kindly remembrance of it, and

298 WANDERINGS IN THE WESTERN WORLD.

think of it as of an old friend. Our long and varied
journey is now drawing to its close. Between this
and England it is scarcely probable anything worth
chronicling will arise. We have bid farewell to the
many friends and companions of our voyages, a sor-
rowful enough task, only brightened by anticipations
of the future, and, on my side, of seeing you and

home again.

Till then adieu,

Your ever affectionate daughter,
CLARA FITZROY PALEY.

April, 1854.

299

ENVOI.

WHETHER it may ever be my lot to revisit the sunny
land I have endeavoured to paint in the foregoing-
pages I know not. I parted from it with much
regret, and shall ever bear the grateful recollection
that the year I spent on the other side of the Atlantic
was the happiest and most peaceful period of my life,
from the days of childhood until the present time.

CLAKA FITZROY BROMLEY.
September, 1855.

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